Brave New World
by SugaSugashi
Summary: Athena Hayanashi, a perfumer living a meaningless lonely life, until she found herself literally "falling" into Naruto's world. A saga of self-discovery, adventure, humor, and romance as Athena meets the inhabitants of Konoha. Kakashi Naruto Sakura OC etc
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The clock struck twelve. Athena Hayanashi blew out the single candle on the rainbow cupcake in front of her. _Happy Birthday to me, _she thought. She took the tiny candle out of the cupcake and licked it clean. _God I hate sweets, _she thought and then dumped the Ralphs cupcake in the trash can. _Celebrating your birthday alone is really no fun, eh? _

She sat down on the sofa and started opening the few letters on the coffee table. Bills: rent, gas, electricity, internet, cellphone, insurance, medical fees, etc. Then there was one check, which comes every two weeks. Working as a PA (personal assistant) for a real estate lawyer isn't a gig she spent six years in the university training for, but when one's twenty-four and on one's own, any job that pays the bills is the job one must take.

Athena sighed. Years of study, and for what? An empty apartment with shelves of books to fill up lonely nights. A laptop instead of close friends. Papers instead of photo albums full of memories. It's the twentieth century, one must be cultured, successful, gorgeous, and happy. What a goal to achieve when one also has the rising cost of living and minimal salary. _Why couldn't I have lived in a much simpler time? _

She decided to leave the bills for tomorrow and turned on the television. _Tsk, only cartoon is on at this hour? I guess it's still better than informercial. _She picked her legs up and watched as the screen bursting into colors. Reaching for the jar of skiddles, she started poping them in her mouth. They tasted bitter like medicine. She re_God I hate dubbed anime. The English dub always sounds so retarded. _As Athena watched the story of an orange hair kid thriving to be Hokage despite his limited intelligence, the back of her brain kept on screaming, _Jeez how life is simple there. Wouldn't I love it to just escape this life and live in that world?_

Two hours later, she went to sleep with that thought coursing through her brain. _Man, it's so much better living in a fantasy. _

—————————————————————————————————————————

Her sleep was rudely interrupted by the knee jerk commonly experienced as the body falls into deep sleep and mistakes itself as dying. They seem to happen more and more frequently these days. _Not again! _she hated that feeling of falling into an imaginary abyss, twisting in fear, then waking up with sweat seeping out from your pores. She rolled onto her left and tried to sleep through the imaginary fall. The wind charms overhead started clanging against each other. Faster and faster. As if a thunderstorm was approaching.

She heard the howl of wind pouring over her skin. She couldn't keep from feeling like she was falling. _Snap out of it, damn it! _She scolded herself, insistently closing her eyes. _It's my birthday, for pete's sake! _The room got colder as the metal cylinders smashing against each other each time more powerful. Someone tugged at her blanket, and with one last howl of wind it was torn of her body. _That's it! _Athena opened her eyes and sat up. _Huh?_

A wide blue sky, as pale and bright as pool's water, greeted her eyes. A dash of gold light from the east entered her vision. _Beautiful, _she thought. She stayed in that trance for a time, until it dawned on her that she had gone to bed in her bedroom in her apartment in her two-story apartment complex. _What?_ It was then that she realized she was _truly _falling.

"ARGHHHHHH"

Her body shred through the air, spinning its way down. She could hear space being ripped off into shrill hisses around her. Her head felt like it was about to explode. Patches of green and brown below swiftly passed through her slightly opened eyes.

_I'm about to die. I'm about to die. _Screams filled her head. _It's going to hurt, oh god I hope it's over quickly! I hope it's over so quick I won't feel anything. _Her life flashed through her eyes. The rainbow cupcake with a single tiny candle. The billing letters sprawling across the coffee table. Empty photo albums.

A flash of green darted in front of her. The color of leaf. _Maybe death isn't so bad. _It's the last thing she remembered.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Tsunade looked at the new report on her desk. Her left index finger was slightly tapping the wood surface. _You got to be kidding me. ¥9800 for a night_ _at a roadside inn?_

"Kakashi, what is this?"

"Hm?" A silver hair man looked up from his book.

"Don't 'hm' me! Explain this crazy expense in your report. Couldn't you have found a cheaper inn?"

"Well, you see...there wasn't any other inn..."

"Then sleep outside!" she rose from her chair. Her eyes shone with killing intention. "Next time, it'll come out of your paycheck!"

"Ehhh? But, but..."

"You have something else to say?" She slowly raised her right arm, showcasing a tight fist brimming with her infamous strength.

"No...nothing," Kakashi lowered his head in defeat.

"Actually, about the woman I rescued yesterday, how is she?"

"She's awake," Tsunade stepped out from behind her desk. "Something's not right about her though. She claimed she didn't know how she got here, and she seemed surprised to know where she was. I had Shizune do a memory check, it showed she actually knew about us, not only that, but also detailed information on some of our ninjutsu and ninja forces, you, Naruto, Sakura, many others, and even myself included."

"Huh?" Kakashi's eyes lost their sleepiness. "A spy?"

"Not likely. We did other tests as well. She doesn't possess any ninja skills. I also had Kurenai checked for any mind-control technique that might have been placed on her. Nothing."

"Could it be that her arrival here was sudden and against her wish? That's the only thing that will explain how she can know of us yet was surprised to find herself here."

"That's exactly what I thought. It doesn't explain how she knows so many things about us though."

"Well, if she's not a spy, why can't we just release her?"

Tsunade became quiet. After a while, she turned around and faced her most treasured jounin. "Because we don't know where she came from."

"She doesn't remember?"

"She does. The problem is we can't find it on the map. That isn't the only strange thing."

"What else?"

"Her description of it was...bizarre at least. I called a specialist just to make sure she wasn't lying. Turned out she was telling the truth."

"I see," Kakashi presumed his thinking position—leaning against the wall, his chin rested on his fingers, arms crossed in front. "Then there's the question of who sent her here, and for what purposed."

"Right," she nodded. "Since she has no place to go, I decided to keep her here for the time being. I also put her in the apartment next to yours. Keep an eye on her. She doesn't appear dangerous right now, but it's better safe than sorry. Got it?"

"Yes M'am," he turned and was about to exit. "Oh, what's her name?"

"Hayanashi Athena. Weird name, isn't it?"

"Sounds foreign. Okay, I'll give her a visit. Gotta be friendly to your new neighbor, right?"

"Kakashi, don't tell her what we discussed here. Especially the part where your job is to watch her."

"What am I supposed to tell her?"

Tsunade gave him a shrug. "You're her savior. Make it up!"


	2. Chapter 2

She looked out the windows at the far side of the room. Other hospital beds were empty. A few cuckoos were circling the red maple tree outside, contently bathing in the sunlight. _It's so rural_, she thought. Athena recounted the people she had met. Most of them she recognized from the anime marathon she had watched. At first she thought she was under influence of some sort, then she remembered how much of a vanilla cookie she was about drugs. For the moment, it didn't really bother her. In fact, when she thought of the bills and the empty apartment awaiting her, she kind of wished that her stay here lasted for as long as it could. After all, this is the most exciting thing that had happened in her life.

"Yo."

Her heart almost jumped out of her chest at the sudden intrusion.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that."

The man before her was scratching his head apologetically. Kakashi, she remembered. He looked a bit different from how the anime depicted him, except for the book he always carried with him. It was opened now on his hands. He appeared more...imposing, you might say. His hair wasn't as gray either. In fact, the color looked a bit like the color of polar bear's fur, except with a tint of metal, which ended up making it look like silver. His one-eye face didn't surprise her, though the mask he wore was not as thick as it was drawn to be. Its thin but opaque material draped tightly over his sharp features and narrow jawline. The dark blue fabric continued seamlessly from the bridge of his nose downward until it disappeared behind his green jacket. Green like the color of leaf.

"You know who I am, right?"

She nodded, considering the fact that anything coming out of her mouth might make her look like a lunatic.

"Hmm, I wonder," he crossed his arm, looked up to the ceiling for a few seconds, then lowered his head. "So, how are you doing?" his eye lazily found her face.

"Good. I mean, great. Thank you." Even though Kakashi's posture was laid back, she couldn't help feeling as if she was being watched very closely. The mask only made it more nerve cracking. However, he seemed to be satisfied with her answer.

"Ah, that's good to hear."

For a while he didn't say anything but looked at her. It gave Athena the time to notice his scent. A clear note of fresh saffron combined with lingering oak moss and the unfathomable compound of human natural scent to make up something warm yet cool, like a sandalwood next to a dangerous mountain stream. Comforting, laid-back, yet very male and mysterious. Close yet also so far away.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"You was concentrating on something."

_I am being watched_, she thought. "Oh, I was just...looking at things," it dawned on her that it's the first time she has heard his voice. _The English actor was way off the mark,_ she noted. She was glad her father made sure her Japanese was competent, however old-fashioned his motive might have been.

"No you weren't. You were staring at thin air." He gently corrected her, but his tone made clear that he wasn't going to let her off the hook. "What was it?"

"Um, I guess, I kind of...smelled you?" she said. _Way to not be a lunatic_, she thought. Even though she wondered if lying was even an option.

"Smelled me?" Contrary to her fear, Kakashi sounded amused by what he heard. He then closed his eyes as if he suddenly decided to daydream, "what did you smell?"

She hesitated. "Fresh saffron, warm oak moss, maybe some chilled grapefruit? It smells good, I mean."

He chuckled. _She has quite a nose,_ he thought as the stranger in front of him just described the scent of his shampoo, body wash, and aftershave. Kakashi has always been a bit picky with scent.

"Anything else?"

"Green apple."

_Very good,_ he silently approved. "Anything else?"

"Blood orange, tobacco, spice..."

"That's good enough," he raised his hand and chuckled aloud. _I didn't expect to encounter someone like Kiba-kun here._ "You're really good at this."

"My father was a perfumer," she replied.

"Do you make perfume then?"

She paused. "No, I work...well, worked as a personal assistant for a lawyer."

"Sounds boring," he said.

_This guy, he really gets to the point, doesn't he?_ She liked how he flatly called her job boring. Most people took some time to spit out some polite comments, but he just went for the obvious truth.

"It is," she said.

"That's why you came here?"

_Here it goes again._ She took a deep breath. "Maybe, I'm not sure. I don't know how I got here honestly."

Kakashi looked at her, direct enough to engage in the conversation, but not too direct that it would reveal his intention or make her uncomfortable. She was petite. Judging from the hospital robe, she appeared healthy, not malnourished. Her hair was at medium length, with a side bang sweeping across her forehead and tucked behind her right ear. She has an interesting face. Nice delicate features mixed with bold and strong bone structure. A pair of hazel-blue eyes, full heart-shape mouth, and a straight small nose. Her light skin sets her face apart from her dark chocolate hair. It isn't a beautiful or striking face, but it's interesting to look at.

"Your name sounds very foreign. Hayanashi Athena, isn't it?"

"My mother is French. My father's father was Japanese, his mother was Spanish."

_French, Japanese, Spanish?_ He considered asking for a moment and then decided to let it go. _She seems a bit more talkative now_, he noted. He leaned forward a bit. _Here goes._

"Your last name sounds familiar. Your first name, however, is the first I've ever heard."

"It's Greek. The goddess Athena. The virgin goddess of wisdom, righteous war, and justice."

"That sounds like a good name."

"It's uncommon too in my world to have that name. It's very old. Plus, Athena's a mythical goddess."

"Your world?" he asked, trying to use the most light-hearted tone he could find.

"It sounds crazy, but I think I fell in your world. The world of Naruto." _Gosh it's painful to hear myself saying these words,_ she whined mentally.

"How do you know Naruto?" he asked without leaving an appropriate pause like he should have. _Damn it, _his voice was also a bit more serious than he had intended.

_Oh shit,_ she caught the sudden change in his tone, _isn't this kid someone all the bad guys are after?_ Athena cussed herself for letting her mouth run loose. Unable to think of a way to answer without appearing suspicious, she kept silent.

_Great, now she caught on to what I'm doing_, Kakashi felt like he had just thrown himself a curve ball. The woman before him looked alarmed and cautious. Her fingers were squeezing the blanket, and he detected on her a faint smell of nervous sweat. _Scared,_ he thought, _because she got something to hide, or because she didn't want to be seen as an enemy?_

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

He actually meant it. Investigating a traumatized young woman who has nowhere to go isn't really his cup of tea. He felt sorry for her, especially since it didn't appear that she was lying. What a shame he made her sweat. She had such a lovely scent. Elegant white snow patchouli contrasts nicely with dark musk, wrapped in the center by subtle damask rose and creamy vanilla, plus some refreshing notes of green leaves.

Kakashi inherited an excellent sense of smell, something he put to good use—most of the times. Athena's scent was strange and intriguing to him. It was full of dichotomy and contradiction. He has always believed that a person's true character is revealed through their scent and not so much their appearance. Then again, there are perfumers whose profession is to create an unreal experience. He looked back at her face. _She would make a good perfumer,_ he dully noted.

"I understand. Someone also asked me these things when I woke up." She answered quietly.

_Well, it doesn't seem like she's up for anymore talking._ Kakashi sighed, disappointed. "I heard you're going to be released soon."

"This afternoon. The nurse said I'll be installed in an apartment until further notice."

"I see," he said.

They sat in silence for a while. Finally Kakashi closed his book and stood up from his chair.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you've already known this, but this is a good village. You'll be well taken care of by Tsunade."

_Is he trying to be reassure me?_ She found his obvious statement somewhat...unexpected. _He's a rather nice person_, she thought.

"I know. Thank you. And thank you for chatting with me."

"No problem. Good luck."

"Bye. Hope to see you again." Athena wasn't lying. The straight forward jounin was the first person in this world she had truly conversed with for more than twenty five minutes. He might have been an assassin, but his companionship at this point doesn't feel so bad.

Stealing one last look at his new neighbor-to-be, Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. _See you again soon, mythical goddess Athena._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Kakashi, think you can give us a jolt here? The power doesn't start somehow," Genma called out to his colleague.

The construction site of Konoha pretty much makes up the whole village, sitting on a deep and wide basin as the result of a devastating fight months ago. Shinobi, carpenters, construction workers are scattered among the rubble. Small leaked water streams from broken pipelines make their way throughout the site.

"Yeah, I'll be there. Think you can handle this, Tenzo?" he turned towards another ninja who was carrying a stack of fifteen wood posts.

"It's Yamato, and I'll ask Gai. You help Genma with the electricity," he replied.

"Okay."

After the invasion of Pain, a war broke out among the ninja villages. Konoha, weaken by previous invasion, became the obvious target. However, thanks to an alliance between the Sand and the Leaf ninjas and a joined effort to bring peace, both villages have managed to come out the war with most their task force intact. The war quickly died out, and diminished into a fierce competition with dirty tactics instead of full blown battles.

"Gai, give me a hand with the woods?"

"Of course," the green beast answered with his usual ping. "This would be a good opportunity to train myself and rebuild Konoha as the same time. Lee, stay here and help the others with the rocks."

"Sure, Gai-sensei."

A younger version of Gai answered him. He was standing next to piles of bricks, rocks, and concrete. Next to him were baskets with each material separated, and workers trying to figure out a way to re-use them. _Having Sakura-san here would be a better help for me though, _he thought. _Too bad she's always stuck at the hospital._

———————KONOHA'S HOSPITAL———————

Sakura listened carefully to the pulse underneath her thumb. It was beating rhymcally, yet every few minutes or so she would catch a slight skip. _Something to do with the heart's valves I'm sure, _she concluded. She picked up the chart at the foot of the bed and turned to her patient.

"Hayanashi-san, do you have any history of heart disease?"

"No. My mother faints often, but she has always been a bit too emotional for her own good. Why?"

"Your heart beat isn't regular. Well, it is, but..."

To Sakura's surprise, her patient let out a sigh of relief.

"Ah, other doctors said it before. It's a birth defect. Nothing's major."

_Nothing major? _The medical ninja stared at her new patient. "Hayanashi-san, you're aware that this condition would interfere with any demanding physical activities?"

"Yes, I know," she smiled. Small birth defects are so common they rarely receive worried looks from doctors. "I also have a hole in my retina that doesn't affect my vision. My eye doctor said it's a birth defect also."

_Huh? _Sakura's training prepared her to deal with patient's distress concerning their physical limitation or defects. It has not prepared her to deal with someone who looks at birth defects as a fact as banal as having blond hair instead of brown.

"You really don't have a problem with these things?" she asked.

"Why would I? They never really posed any problems for the last 24 years," Athena retorted.

She started to feel a certain barrier between her and the people in this world. They seem to care for things that ultimately one cannot do anything about._ They're also a bit paranoid about their information too, _she noted. After Kakashi's visit, Shizune came back and put her under some kind of induced sleep for a while. She was sure it had something to do with the fact that she mentioned the name Naruto to Kakashi.

"You're sure? The one with your eye might be fine, but your heart...Without a completely healthy heart, you can't engage in combat or even training."

She laughed out loud. It was only when she stopped laughing that she realized how rude it was. The young girl before her seemed deeply offended.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to show some sincerity in her apology. "In my world, ninjas don't exist anymore. People mostly work in offices and hire others for manual labor. Most of the population don't even know how to throw a punch."

"Eh, really?" What she said seemed to catch her attention.

"Yeah. Bizarre, right?" she smiled sarcastically at the girl.

One thing she had to get used to was seeing how colorful people's hair get around here. Orange, blue, purple, you name it. It appeared they didn't dye it that way either. _No wonder why they're wired differently, _she snorted mentally. From what she's seen from the TV, they also have supernatural abilities and superhuman strength. _I guess that's one more reason for me to act nice. _

"Okay, Hayanashi-san. I think you can leave," the girl said after filling out her chart. "Someone will take you to the apartment and explain to you other things about your staying here."

—————————————————————————————————————

"So, report on the construction?" Tsunade's hand was holding out impatiently with an open palm.

The ninja in front of her was standing perfectly still.

"Kakashi, where is your report?"

Still nothing except respectful silence.

"Today's your turn to write a report. Have you nothing to show me?"

"Well, there isn't much, so I figure I can just tell you what's happening," he said. "We're making headway in rebuilding the library and the fifth district. We got the electricity back on, as for the pipe system..."

"Put them all in writings!" Tsunade cut off his verbal report much to Kakashi's dismay. She then turned towards her apprentice. "So?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama, I have released Hayanashi Athena to two chuunins. They've already taken her to her apartment."

"Anything abnormal about her physical condition from what we've examined so far?"

"No, she appears to be a normal person without any ninja training. Moreover," Sakura paused as she remembered Athena's aloof attitude concerning this information, "she has a birth defect in her heart, which would prevent any intense physical action. It's highly doubtful that she ever trained as a ninja or under any martial arts."

"That's not true, Sakura. Hayate didn't have a very healthy body, yet he was one of our elite jounins." Kakashi reminded her.

"Yes, but there is no other proof to show that she even knew any ninja arts. Also, she told me that ninjas don't exist anymore in her world."

The last sentence caught Tsunade's attention. She signaled to both the jounin and her apprentice to silence themselves. _There's no ninja in her world, _Tsunade thought, _then how come she knows all these things about us? Tsk, I should have told Shizune to do a more throughout memory check._

"We can't be sure she wasn't sent by one of the opposing villages to spy on us, but at least she seems harmless as far as we know. Kakashi, what did you find out?"

"Well, not much. Just why she had a foreign name."

"That's it? You spent half an hour chatting her up and that's all you got? Sakura got more than that in less than fifteen minutes," she said half-teasing and half-scolding. "Fine, what's about her name that's useful to us?"

"Well, nothing really. She just explained it, but I didn't really understand." He was back to scratching his head apologetically again.

"Aren't you supposed to be a genius, and also a man who has a way with words?" Tsunade felt her blood starting to boil. "Kakashi, I'm a bit disappointed."

"Hokage-sama, if Hayanashi-san is indeed from a world completely different than ours, Kakashi-sensei would have a hard time understanding her explanation, since the information obvious to her is not available to us," her apprentice quickly stepped in.

_Thank you, Sakura. _Kakashi exchanged a glance of gratitude at his student. _Though it's a bit embarrassing that I need my student to defend me before the Hokage._

"So we have nothing to go on." Tsunade retorted.

"She noticed my tension after her mentioning Naruto. After that, it was impossible for me to get any other information out of her."

_Tsk, normally I wouldn't pay so much attention, but Shizune's result of the initial memory check is worrisome. I wonder how much she knows about Naruto. We cannot afford to let any important information leak out._

"Fine. That'll be it for now." She dismissed them.

"Get me Ebisu," she said to the guard.

—————————————————————————————————

"Kakashi-sensei, do you think she's a spy?" Sakura turned towards her sensei, who was back to reading his book while walking. "Do you think she's after Naruto?"

Kakashi answered without looking at his student's face. "Spies are often highly trained in the art of deception. It'll be especially hard to tell if they were put under a mind-control technique beforehand."

Her teacher's answer did little to lessen her worry. _Master Tsunade seems to be pretty upset about her. _Sakura reminded herself of Athena's cold and callous attitude towards the way of a Shinobi. _She doesn't seem to like us very much either. _

"Well, I've been assigned to keep an eye on her. So Sakura, don't worry." He patted his smartest student on the back, then left her behind in a flash.

"You summoned me, Hokage-sama?"

"Yeah," _Better safe than sorry. We can't afford any more infiltration or damage from the inside, _she thought, _I know that now thanks to you, Danzo. _

"Assign a few of your most outstanding genins to follow Hayanashi Athena. She's been put in the apartment next to Hataka Kakashi, who will also be keeping an eye on her. Tell them to report to you or a high rank shinobe immediately if she makes contact with someone they don't recognize, or does anything suspicious. Also, do not let her leave the village under any circumstances!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sai tried to balance himself on the slippery rocks of the water fountain's wall; his right hand was holding a stack of sketching papers. White water was gushing out of the cave's mouth and plunging down into the pond barely two feet from his right shoulder. The cave had a wide opening in its ceiling, through which the ocher light of noon passed through fruit-heavy persimmon branches and descended on the surface of pond water so clear one can see the pebbles at the bottom. _Shit, _his sandals landed on top of some wet green moss and slid off the rock, pulling his body with them.

He threw his left arm overhead and quickly grabbed a long dangling bark to his side. The bark was connected to an old lark perching over the edge of the opening. _Phew, _he swung to the side and kicked the rock wall with both of his feet. He let go of the bark, leaped into several acrobatic spins in a air, then landed on the ground without a sound. _Found you, _Sai smiled at the brilliant cerulean star-shaped flower blooming on the edge of the pool. Its petals and stem were so delicate that it looked like a sparkling blue star floating in thin air.

He sat down and started laying out his drawing tools. He decided to use oil pastel instead of watercolor. _The transparency of watercolor wouldn't do justice to the blue star magnolia, _he thought. _Well, now I can try out the watersoluble oil pastel I've just got. _He took out a heavy-duty canvas paper and started painting. However, it only lasted twenty minutes until he was interrupted.

"Sai, where are you?" he recognized Sakura's voice overhead.

"I'm here, Sakura," he called out to her. A minute later, Sakura's face appeared at the ceiling's opening. "You can come down, but please don't jump too hard or the cave wil fall in."

Sakura easily climbed down the wall and walked up to her teammate. "Wow, Sai, that's a beautiful flower. It looks like a star magnolia, but why is it blue instead of pink or white? I thought star magnolias only grow at the bay."

"Isn't it?" Sai kept up his serene smile. "This kind of star magnolia has only one bloom every ten years. It only grows underground where there is a constant source of water and soft sunlight."

"One every ten years? Sai, how did you find out about it?"

"I read somewhere that it's the most beautiful flower in the world. I've always wanted to draw it, and since each bloom lasts for six months, I was able to find one."

"That's so cool," Sakura leaned in to smell the magnificant flower. Unfortunately, the flower had no scent. _So ironic, _she thought. She sat down next to Sai and said nothing until he asked her the reason why she was looking for him.

"Um, I have something I want to ask you," she answered. "You know that Kakashi-sensei saved a woman yesterday right?"

"You mean the spy?"

"You think so?" Sai's response alarmed Sakura. "How much do you know about her?"

Sai continued drawing, "just what everyone knows. She has detailed information on our task force, and also background information on almost every top ninja in Konoha. Also, no one can verify where she comes from, or her story of coming here."

"She says she's from a different world," Sakura said. _Maybe that's why she's a bit disagreeable. People there might think differently than we. _Sai shrugged at her reply. The two of them turned silent for a few minutes.

"Sai, can you be a spy without having any ninja skills?"

"Actually, that's the best way to be a spy." Sai put down his pastel crayon. "Having no ninja skill renders you as non-threatening, and thus makes it easier to travel from village to village. Hidden villages rarely pay attention to common people, so this type of spy can gain a lot of information without being suspected."

"But they can't get very high-level information like she did."

"Not necessarily. Considering that she's a woman, there are numerous ways she can gather information. Chatting up the villagers at a bathhouse or a teahouse, even becoming friend or lover with a shinobi. Plus, ninjas aren't the only source of information for a spy. Advice counselors are old and senile. They love having someone listen to them."

"Isn't that very dangerous?"

"Being a spy always carries huge risks. She probably has a partner or a team to help her with the mission."

_I see, _Sakura bit her lips, _then she's even more dangerous as a normal person than as a ninja. I must warn Kakashi-sensei to not get too close to her. Also, I must tell him to keep her away from Naruto._

——————————————————————————————————————

Athena looked at her new place. It wasn't very different from her old apartment, just a bit smaller and more like a studio than an apartment. The floor was a step higher than the entrance. At the furthest wall laid her bed, a queen size one with white headboard. She liked the wide slider windows directly above the bed with an empty window flower box. The curtains were tied up nicely. To the left of the bed, stood a seasoned armoir against the wall. Five feet to bed's right stood the right wall. A medium sized bookshelf and a small desk stood against it, but closer to the entrance.

She stepped onto the floor. _Woods? That's good, _she liked woods. They contract and expand to the weather. They even smell lovely and feel lovely. The walls were painted in a matte eggshell color. _Not bad, _she thought, _but too safe. _To her left was a dining table for four, or five—depending on how you look at it. Behind it was a small kitchen with no dishwasher. _Well, at least there's a sink. _She walked into the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets. She found some cheap white porcelain bowls and sauce dishes. _Beggars can't be choosers I guess, _she sighed. She looked through all of them and found a utility closet and all cooking and dining utensils. She opened the old fridge. It was empty.

To the kitchen's right was the bathroom. It had a toilet, a sink, a shower, and a small medicine cabinet. She contemplated for the moment the urge to look in the mirror, but then decided that it was too soon to find out about the anime version of herself. She walked out of the bathroom to the head of her bed and peered down the street below. A group of small children was walking by. They were gibbering about something and giggling loudly. _Kids are kids in any world, _she smiled.

On the headboard was a metal box containing her allowance. Next to it were a map of the village and a rule book. The two chuunins who escorted her had put them here then left her at the entrance after handing her the key. Neither of them talked to her or answered any of her questions. Her guess was that they really didn't like strangers. _Especially one who knows so many things about them, _she sighed.

Knock Knock.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Your neighbor," Kakashi's voice answered her. When she opened the door, he was standing outside with two bags full of grocery, but his right hand was still holding the infamous book. She hadn't expected to see him again so soon. Twice in a day to be exact.

"Kakashi-san, why are you here?" she invited him in. "What are these?" she asked as he put the grocery bags on the table and started to put things into the fridge as if it was his own apartment.

"It's Kakashi, and these are for you. I figure since you don't know the way around, and since I'm off duty early this evening anyway, that I just stop by the market and get you some grocery."

"Oh," she said stupefied. The most her neighbor had done for her was complaining to the apartment manager about her vacuuming at 9 PM. She glanced at the table again; he had finished putting everything in the fridge. "How much was it?"

"Oh no no," he shook his hands furiously, "consider these as a neighbor's welcoming present."

"I see." _Well, I'm not gonna refuse freebies. Who knows how expensive things are here and how much money they gave me. _"Thank you then."

He turned and took a wide look at her place. "How is it so far?" he asked.

"It's good," she said, "I don't have any possession or guests so it fits me just fine."

"I know it's a bit small and economic, but with almost half of the village still in construction..."

"No, it _really _is fine," she waved her hand. She thought of the places she had lived after she left home. Compared to some of them, this studio was a palace. "I lived in worse places before."

Kakashi was satisfied. He walked towards the windows. The sky was turning purple as they talked. He picked up the map on the headboard, opened it, then turned towards her.

"Want to take a quick look around?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Naruto was ecstatic as the fume of ramen broth entered his nose. _Sakura-chan is treating me to ramen, _he smiled devilishly, _it's my lucky day! _He was turning the pair of chopsticks in his hands impatiently. _It's here, _he squealed as the bowl was put in front of him. _Large bowl with extra meat, _he barely left himself enough time to say Itadakimatsu before having his mouth full of ramen.

"Seriously Naruto, I'm treating you to ramen to congratulate you for getting out of the hospital, but can't you eat a little slower? I don't want to take you back to the hospital again you know?"

"Hah, Sakura-chan, you're worried about me?" said Naruto with his mouth full.

"Of course I am, you idiot," she smiled. She looked at him, eating ramen so energetically, and thought about the weeks he spent in the hospital, unconscious. When they found him, the Akatsuski had already started to extract the Kyuubi. Luckily they stopped them in time, and Akatsuski lost three more of its members. _I hope it'll take them a while to even think of going after him again, _she thought.

"Oy, you're okay, Sakura-chan? You're looking all serious."

"I'm fine. Just eat your ramen," she said.

"Oy, it's Kakashi-sensei," Naruto stopped eating and looked pass Sakura's shoulder. "Kakashi-sensei! Here here!" Then he turned towards her again, "he's walking with someone. Do you know her, Sakura-chan?"

_It's her, _she instantly recognized the woman, _why is Kakashi-sensei with her? _Sakura looked at Athena as she came closer. She had changed out of the hospital robe and was wearing a simple blue dress coming down to her knee. The color of Athena's dress reminded her of the blue star magnolia on the edge of the pond Sai showed her earlier. Its modest square shape collar dipped slightly in the center to a wide shallow V and connected to two straight sleeves pass her elbows. The woman smiled at her and Naruto.

"Good evening, Sakura-san and Naruto-san. I'm Hayanashi Athena."

"Just call them Sakura and Naruto," their sensei flatly told her. He led her to the space next to Naruto and sat next to her himself.

_Why is sensei letting that person sit next to Naruto? _Sakura threw her teacher a questioning look, which he ignored. _Tsk, I should have told him what Sai told me. _She looked at Naruto and then at the woman next to him. _No way in hell I'm letting her get to him. _

"Your name is Athena? What a weird name!" Naruto said.

"Naruto, don't be so rude," Sakura said.

"It's fine," to Sakura's surprise Athena chuckled and turned her attention to Naruto, "other people say so too."

"What does it mean?" he asked while slurping the brown broth.

"It's the name of a mythical goddess. She's the goddess of wisdom, justice, and righteous war."

At her explanation, Naruto stopped eating and turned silent for a while, then he said thoughtfully, "that sounds really cool, your name I mean."

"Thanks."

_What a straight-forward guy, _she thought, _he doesn't look very bright but he seems nice. _He paid her no questioning or cautious glare, as if he had no idea how much she knew about him. _Well, maybe he doesn't. _She looked at the bandage that was visible at his throat and at the knuckles on both his hands. It made her wonder how bad the injury was under the clothing.

"Are you dating Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked without hesitation, then he added quickly in the same casual manner, "'cause you don't really look like his type."

"NARUTO!" Kakashi and Sakura immediately said.

"And what is Kakashi's type?"

"Well, Kakashi-sensei likes women who shape like this...and this," the orange hair trouble maker raised his hands and drew an invisible and dramatic hourglass silhouette in the air.

"That...that's not true!" Kakashi protested. _This is so embarrassing, _he thought. _Naruto, have some discretion, will you?_

"Yeah it is," Naruto continued unfazed, "I read some pages of the Icha Icha series when I was training with Ero-sennin you know?" He signaled to Athena to get closer, then whispered in her ear, "he especially likes the part where the woman..."

Before Naruto got a chance to finish his sentence, Kakashi had jumped behind him and managed to cover his mouth. "Don't say anything else and I'll treat you to some ramen later," he quickly whispered into Naruto's ears. They quickly exchanged an understanding glance.

Seeing as his student had agreed to the deal, Kakashi returned to his seat. _I got to be a bit stricter to them, _he sighed, _it's harder to tell them what to do day by day. _He turned around and smiled at Athena, who was looking at him curiously. _Naruto, how am I supposed to get her to trust me now_ _when you made me look like a pervert? _His stomach dropped to think of Tsunade, who was waiting impatiently for more information.

"So, are you dating?" Naruto continued on with his initial question.

"No, we're not," Athena leered at the man next to her, _he probably will report everything I say to his superior again, like this morning._ The thought of having her private memories violated again irritated her.

"Then how come you're walking together?"

"Naruto," Kakashi felt like it was time for him to stand in, "Athena is new here. I'm only showing her how to get around the village."

"Oh, where are you from?"

_That question again? _She hesitated. "It's very far. I'm sure you've never heard of it."

"Fine then," Naruto abandoned his question just as quickly as he had asked it. He drank the broth, "wow, this is so delicious. I wish I can make this at home and eat it everyday!"

"Well you can. I'm not exactly sure without tasting it, but from how it smells, you need bonito flakes, big onions, kelps, negi, pork broth..."

"Excuse me, miss?" Athena was about to finish her analysis when a older man voice stopped her. Apparently her analysis had caught Teuchi's attention. He said in a kind but firm tone, "may I ask you to not disclose our family recipe? This boy's one of our regulars, you see."

"Oh," she stuttered for the first time since she came here. When it came to analysis of scent and smell, Athena forgot all her manners. "I didn't mean..."

"Ah, that's fine," the old man quickly brushed off her apology with a chuckle, "Frankly I'm quite impressed with your analysis. You're a cook?"

"No, I studied perfumery, but my mother was a chef."

"Ah, no wonder you're so good. You know what, I'll treat you to some ramen as a compliment!"

_More free food? And that ramen broth smells so good, _Athena squealed with happiness. "Thank you," she instantly accepted the offer. "Extra meat also please!" she looked and winked at Naruto. His eyes smiled at her with the noodles still in his mouth.

At the far end, Sakura watched Athena carefully as she was talking to Naruto. _She's good with scent, eh? _Her mind returned to the blue star magnolia, and she chuckled at the irony.

————————an hour later—————————————

"Thank you so much, Teuchi-san." Athena made a slight bow to the generous owner. Behind her, customers had already been tapping their feet impatiently for the seats.

"So Athena-san, where are you staying?" Sakura asked.

"She's staying next door to me," Kakashi answered his student while giving her the same reassuring look earlier in the afternoon, then silenced Naruto's grin with a deadly stare. "Well then, we'll be going home. See you both tomorrow at the training ground. Don't be late!"

"It's us who should be saying that!" they screamed at him, but he had already started walking away from them.

"Good bye, Sakura. Good bye, Naruto." Athena said quickly.

"They might not act like it, but they're among the best ninjas this village has to offer. Especially that Naruto," he turned to her.

"He seems like a nice kid," she nodded.

He looked at her face and couldn't detect any false affection. _Then again, _he thought, _I'm not very good when it comes to women. _He asked himself why Tsunade even assigned her to him.

"_It's obvious. You saved her life. She'll trust you more than anyone here right now. So take advantage of that and give me something useful."_

He sighed. _I guess Naruto sort of ruined that advantage. _Even though he was no stranger to delicate operations, Kakashi didn't have much expertise on discovering a spy. _A non-ninja one on top of that_, he thought, _it's harder to unmask them especially if they're common people. _He glanced at her walking in silence next to him, looking at the map and marking all the directions. _Plus, I also need to consider the possibility that she's innocent. _

Before he realized, they had already come back in front of Athena's apartment. She inserted the key, then turned and gave him her hand.

"Thank you, Kakashi. I appreciate your showing me around." Her voice sounded hasty, as if she couldn't wait for him to shake her hand and disappear.

"No problem," he took it. _She has a good handshake, _he noted, _not flimsy or unengaged._ "If you need anything, don't hesitate."

She nodded quickly at his encouragement, then immediately got inside her apartment and shut the door. He stared at the wall for five minutes, then remembered he couldn't see through walls. _How am I going to keep an eye on her? _He panicked. _There's a million ways she could contact her client, or her teammate, right now without my knowledge! _He began to seriously think that Tsunade picked the wrong person for the job. _What she needs isn't someone with a Sharingan, but someone with the Byakugan. _


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Of course I thought of Hyuga Neji," Tsunade angrily replied, "but he's on a special mission right now seperate from his team with two ANBUs. Hyuga Hisana is also on a mission with her team. You're the only next reasonable choice."

"Oh," _so I'm not your first choice?_ Kakashi's pride felt a slight pinch. "I just thought..."

"You thought I haven't considered the situation carefully?"

"I sincerely apologize, Hokage-sama," he said.

Kakashi looked outside the wide window panes behind Tsunade's shoulder. The morning sun was pouring its honey on top of green waxy leaves, and the fuchsia flowers had begun to appear. _It's a good day to visit Obito_, he lazily contemplated. However, he continued upon catching Tsunade's impatient stare, "she met Naruto yesterday."

"What?" his superior sat up from her reclining posture.

"I took her around the village yesterday and we ran into Naruto and Sakura at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar."

"And?"

"Well, she definitely paid more attention to Naruto than anyone else, but it seemed to be genuine interest," he said. "They got along very well actually." _Too well perhaps_, he thought. "Sakura, on the other hand, seems to be extremely wary around her."

"She's always been protective of Naruto, especially since last time..." Tsunade's voice trailed off the conversation.

"It wasn't your fault, Tsunade-sama. None of us could have anticipated that Sasuke would give Naruto over to Akatsuki."

"If I had assigned someone to watch over Sasuke..."

"...Naruto would have opposed your decision," Kakashi shrugged, "he chose to believe Sasuke, and we chose to believe him."

_Naruto has too much faith in people, and always ends up putting himself in danger. This time, however,_ Tsunade looked at her subordinate, _I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. _

"Kakashi..."

Before she got to say anything else, her apprentice had barged into her office like a hurricane. The girl looked like she had gone to bed in full ninja outfit, spent the night waiting for morning, and at the earliest hour possible jumped out of bed and run straight here.

"Tsunade-sama!"

Sakura was about to continue when she noticed a tall figure standing right in front of her. "Kakashi-sensei?" Her initial surprise soon wore off, and she turned once again to the beautiful woman sitting behind the desk, "Tsunade-sama, about Hayanashi Athena..."

"Sakura, we're discussing that subject right now." Kakashi interrupted her. "You're welcome to join. However, calm yourself a little first."

Sakura gathered her breath. She gave Kakashi an angry glare, to which he responded with a confused frown. _How could he have been so careless as to let her get close to Naruto?_ Sakura thought.

"Sai and I had a discussion yesterday about Hayanashi Athena. As someone who had intense training as a spy himself, Sai thinks it's very likely that she's a civilian spy working with ninja teammates."

"I see, and you agree with him?" Tsunade looked at her apprentice closely. The girl seemed anxious and worn out by her heavy shifts at the hospital and by the presence of the new stranger.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," she answered, "having her near Naruto is way too dangerous especially when she might be after him."

"Then," Tsunade continued, "what do you think we should do?"

"We should confine her movement until we know for sure she's not a spy," Sakura replied hastily. "Also, a specialist like Morino Ibiki might be able to find us more definitive answers."

Tsunade was perplexed by Sakura's obvious suggestion. Her brows came together, and her hands clenched into tight fists. She stayed like that for a while without speaking.

"Tsunade-sama..."

"Sakura," Kakashi stopped her, "Tsunade-sama has already thought of that option."

"Then why isn't she implementing it? What are we waiting for?"

"Because," he said, "she also had to consider the possibility that Athena is innocent."

_Eh?_ Sakura halted. Her hands slowly came down to her sides. Kakashi continued in a casual tone and avoided making his words seem too harsh or accusative.

"Sakura, handing someone over to the Interrogation Squad isn't something that should be taken lightly." _Especially to that sadist Ibiki,_ he thought and sweated a little. "We can't throw someone into prison or hand them over to be interrogated or tortured without any proof that he or she is dangerous. Doing so would severely hurt our reputation as a supporter of peace."

"Moreover, Sakura," he added, "consider Athena's side if we were to throw her in jail when she were indeed innocent."

A heavy silence passed among everyone in the room. _I...haven't thought of that,_ Sakura bit her lips. Her thought trailed off to Naruto and his scream as the Nine-tails were being sucked out of him. _I don't ever want him to get hurt again. _

"I understand your feelings, Sakura." Tsunade said. "However, Kakashi is right. Even if Athena is suspicious, we can't restrain her until we know if she means us any harm. If we forsake our values in order to protect the village and lash out at innocents, that would be a disgrace to the Konoha's tradition that every Hokage has stood for," she paused for a moment, "and it would make me the same as Danzo."

"I'm...I'm sorry," Sakura said, half embarrassed and half disappointed in herself to have not seen the wider scope of the situation. She looked at the two adults before her, and felt like a troublesome child.

"However, Kakashi," Tsunade continued, "you shouldn't have let Athena meet Naruto so soon. From now on, avoid situations where those two can make contacts."

"Yes, but...don't I have a mission coming up?" Kakashi quickly asked. _I'm tired of doing this,_ he complained silently. The thought of tip-toeing around a woman to gain information did not sit well with him since the beginning, he who had always been more comfortable with his strength in missions and on the battle field.

"Ah, I've assigned it to another team. You take this time to help with the construction and keep an eye on Athena." _And train that body of yours,_ she sighed, _for a jounin you do land in the hospital too many times!_

"Well, it's going to be hard for me. You see...I'm not good with people."

"That shouldn't be a problem if you saved her life. You did tell her that, right?"

"Well, you see..."

The atmosphere in the room just got so much colder and more dangerous that Sakura considered getting out of it. Her master didn't appear to be pleased with what she had just heard from her subordinate. In fact, a crack was spreading on her desk where her fist lied. Kakashi seemed to have noticed it as well, as he was scratching his head nervously.

"Sakura, don't you have a training session with Kakashi here later?" Tsunade said with a forced smile. "Why don't you take the day off and go help with the construction? Take Naruto with you also. Get him back in shape before actually getting back to training."

"Su...sure, Tsunade-sama," Sakura quickly accepted. _Sorry Kakashi-sensei,_ she looked at her sensei, _I don't think I can help you this time. _

As Sakura shut the door behind her, Tsunade stood up from her seat. She took a few steps to walk around her work station, then looked directly at the silver hair ninja in front of her, who was sweating profusely.

"So, Tsunade-sama, I really should get goi..."

"Wait," she said, "how long has it been since I saw you fight, little Kakashi?"

"Well, it's been a long time..."

"That's right!" Tsunade said then laughed heartily. "Well, the sun is shining today, and I don't have lots of paperworks either. What do you say you and I hit the training ground?"

Kakashi looked at his superior, who had her right fist already raised near his chin level. _No chance of an escape huh? _He gave up and agreed to her request.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

As the training ground appeared in Kakashi's view, he let out a heavy sigh. The memory of a younger Tsunade as his substitute trainer was still fresh in his mind, and facing her right now brought all the fear he had for her as a child to the surface. It was only one time, but the horror and hardship of that day stayed in his mind. That was the only time in his life where a teacher had looked him and declared him unsatisfactory.

"_This is Sakumo's son? Tsk," the female sannin looked at the boy who was fainting heavily on the ground, "I'm disappointed."_

_She hid her nod of approval inside her heart. _

"This is good enough," Tsunade turned around and faced her jounin, "don't you think so?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi replied and reached for his forehead protector.

Without hesitation, Tsunade attacked. She charged head first, throwing her right fist into Kakashi's face. _What? _Letting go of his forehead protector, Kakashi focused chakra into his arms and blocked her attack. As her fist collided into his crossed arms, he felt a violent convulsion as his body was thrown back fifty feet off the ground. He flipped backward into the momentum, grabbed a tree branch with both his hands and swung himself forward. This broke his fall, and Kakashi landed back onto the ground thirty feet away from his attacker.

"Tsunade-sama, you're just as hasty as before," he smiled beneath the mask.

"The enemy won't give you a 'ready, start' signal," Tsunade said with disdain, "plus, I didn't really hit you that hard."

A wind picked up the leaves on the training ground and swept them to the north. From the larches, black birds appeared in the hundreds, fleeting the scene. Tsunade reached in her jacket and pulled out her old Konoha head protector. Its dark blue fabric had faded, and the metal plate had numerous scratches on it, but the leaf symbol engraving was as deep and sharp as ever.

"Kakashi," she put on her forehead protector, "fight me without your sharingan!"

—————————————————————

Naruto walked among the fallen posts and lintels that once made up his home village. He counted the ruined corners where he used to frequent as a child. The memory of those streets saddened him to see them reduced to nothing but heaps of formless bricks and concrete.

"Naruto-kun," Lee's voice broke his path down memory lane, "how glad I am to see you out of the hospital!"

"Uh, thanks," he paused for a minute, considering the nick name furry-brows, "Lee."

His answer pleased the young man dressed in green spandex. "How are you, Naruto-kun?"

"Well, it's just..." he looked at what's left behind of the neighborhood, "Sakura, Sasuke, and I used to pass by here a lot."

The name Sasuke brought Lee's smile into a frown. He looked at Naruto, who was smiling sorrowfully at the rubbles. Fortunately, Sakura's voice broke the solemn mood.

"Naruto, where are you? We need your help here to set up the water supply!"

"It seems that Sakura needs me. I'll see you later, Lee!" Naruto saluted his taijutsu rival and then ran towards the direction of Sakura's voice. Sometimes hers was the only voice he could hear all day. When he listened to her voice, he could hear the happiness of the past ringing in it. Like bittersweet echoes of some delicate crystal bells that had been shattered.

"Here, hold this for me," she handed him a heavy toolbox.

"Hey, where is Kakashi-sensei?" he looked around "I thought he didn't train with us today to help with the construction."

"He's training with Tsunade-sama right now," Sakura said.

Naruto's jaw dropped. He instinctually touched his forehead and thought of the infamous flick. _Can Kakashi-sensei handle her? _He felt sweat coming out even though a breeze was picking up. _Man I want to see._

"Sakura-chan," he tapped on her shoulder, "don't you want to see Kakashi-sensei and old Tsunade fighting?"

"..." Sakura considered it for a while before deciding that her master wouldn't forgive their sneaking from work to the training ground. "Absolutely not!"

Naruto sighed as she turned her back on him and continued to mend the pipes, but his disappointment only lasted a moment until he started to work to rebuild his beloved village.

——————————————————————————

With her protector on, Tsunade looked just like she was in her twenties. The sheer power of her taijutsu and the fire inside her eyes seemed to burn the atmosphere away. "Fight me," she said without smiling, "without using your sharingan."

_Huh? _Kakashi's expression changed. _She wants a taijutsu focused fight? Urgh, _he jumped to the side just in time to keep Tsunade's kick from crushing his neck. _She's fast, _there was a rip on his mask where it came in contact with her shoes. Tsunade pointed at her genius.

"You rely too much on your sharingan, Kakashi. It results in your pissful stamina, which is also your downfall in fighting opponents with a huge amount of chakra like Kisame." Her voice was unforgiving. "The use of sharingan and its technique carry huge risks to your body. As someone who had examined your body, I know this better than anyone else. You need to develop other techniques and methods of fighting. A shinobi who cannot move his body after every fight is only a burden for his teammates!"

She leaped into the air again. This time, he was prepared for her. He waited for her to collect her power into her fist, then gathered chakra into his feet and jumped to evade her attack at the last moment. Tsunade's attack arrived. The ground shattered beneath him like a broken cookie.

Kakashi focused chakra into his fist. He was within inches to Tsunade, whose body was still in the punching momentum. His hand was about to reach target, when he saw Tsunade's body recoiled in midair like a cobra about to strike. She threw a left kick at Kakashi's chest. Her leg hit home, and Kakashi fell backward onto the ground. His fall dragged on until his body gave out and disappeared into a puff of smoke.

_A clone? _Tsunade landed firmly on her feet. At the exact moment her feet found their stability, the ground liquified beneath them. _Earth Release: Earth Flow River! _The ground turned into mud. _I can't jumped very high off the mud, _she concentrated chakra at the bottom of her feet and released them as if to launched a rocket. _Earth Release: Earth Corridor! _Pillars of rock from the ring outside of the liquified earth shrouded into the sky, attempting to capture her inside their cavern.

_I'm not letting you! _As her jump reached its height, she threw a powerful right hook at the newly formed ceiling of rock. _Huh, _the ceiling turned to mud at her touch. _Shit! _A thick blanket of mud crushed down upon her, like a monstrous wave about to swallow its pitiful sailor.

_Wind Release: Dancing Wind Blades! _From Tsunade's hand seal, crescent flashes of wind flew forwards like thousand blades. The barrier of mud was torn open, and she escaped into the outside air. From her blind spots two dark shapes of star approached. _Shurikens! _She quickly dodged them. However, a gloved fist had already awaited her. She caught the hand, but left her upper body open. _Damn, _she felt a powerful pressure on her right side.

Kakashi's kick hit her right on the ribcage. Tsunade fell her body plummeting to the ground as the shrill air hissed around her. Before her body hit the ground, she gathered chakra into her back and released it, thus stopping her fall and putting her back into standing position. Kakashi landed twenty feet in front of her. His chest fell and rose as he inhaled deeply. He felt some pain on his left hand and glanced at it. Blood was seeping slowly through his glove. The blonde woman in front of him chuckled.

"You used my technique, didn't you?" she asked. "You gathered as much chakra in your hand as possible and let it explode."

"That's the theory I had behind it," he admitted, "but it seemed I forgot something important."

"You got it half-right." Tsunade raised her right fist, which was brimming with chakra. "However, only eighty percent of the attack enters the point of contact, twenty percent of its power will retract back to your hand. To protect my body from harm, I put up a chakra defense equivalent to the retractive power. So in reality, the amount of chakra you gather for the attack will include twenty percent defense, twenty percent retractive power, and sixty percent offensive power. "

_Something isn't right, _he thought, _if my chakra is running low, the amount of chakra I can spend for defense will be depleting. Since every attack has a retractive power,..._

"Bingo," Tsunade smiled satisfactory, "since every attack has a retractive power, it's natural that the user of this technique cannot always put up a perfect defense as the fight continues on and her or his chakra runs low. Towards the end, one might have to forsake the defense and let the attack damage one own's body in order to concentrate one's chakra on the offensive power."

_Hm, _a shadow crossed his face,_ which means..._

"Which means that it's not a technique to be used simultaneously with your sharingan, which is also a chakra sucker." Tsunade completed his thoughts. "From here, we can device several ways for you to develop.

"First is for you to develop techniques that make the most of your chakra and conserves it. Your Raikiri, for example, shapes and manipulates your chakra and thus increases its destructive power. However, all offensive based attacks involve releasing your chakra onto the target, the amount of chakra you use to attack is non-conservable. Not mentioning all direct offensive techniques require much more chakra.

"Second is for you to employ more genjutsu. Mastering genjutsu will allow you to put your sharingan in good use. Genjutsu to confuse and capture the enemy's mind combines with taijutsu or ninjutsu will increase precision, and result in a better chance of winning the fight with minimal effort. For you, molding chakra to execute all three in battle shouldn't be difficult.

"Third is for you to increase your chakra pool and stamina. This is of course your biggest weakness. No amount of strategy or techniques will make up for poor chakra. The first and second methods are to refine your fighting ability, but for you to move to the next level and surpass those who came before you, you need to concentrate on your stamina and power."

The wind was starting to settle down. The sun came up above the tree tops as noon approached. Kakashi stood on the training ground and listened to every word the Hokage was telling him. He knew these well. They had haunted him on every hospital stay. As one of the most valuable assets of the village, Kakashi hardly had time to train himself.

"That's why I'm pulling you off missions for a while," Tsunade declared.

"But," he protested, "Konoha's task force is already at its lowest, and we need money to rebuild the village!"

"Yes, that is true."

"Then why?" he couldn't stand sitting around and caring about his own skin. He had made it his purpose in life to give to the village, and protect Konoha.

"Kakashi," Tsunade signaled for him to stay silent, "you're Sakumo's son. Maybe it's his blood in you that made you one of the rare ninjas who can excel in all aspects of the ninja arts. Your natural potential, combining with that sharingan, should be limitless. However, you're not living up to that name!"

Tsunade scolded him, "instead of developing your own abilities, you became too dependent on a power that was not yours to begin with. Instead of incorporating it, you're letting the sharingan become your handicap. A ninja who is too concerned with his teammates' protection that he throws away his offensive ability is a fool. Protecting your teammates doesn't mean sacrificing your life needlessly in the process!

"That's why you will concentrate on training for now. You need to become stronger," she raised her eyes and smiled at him proudly, "because you will replace me as Hokage one day."

Tsunade looked at the trees swaying gently around her. She thought she saw the smile of her grandfather pouring over every inch of this village. The unparalleled Kage in the shinobe world, Hashirama Senju, was smiling upon them. She put her hand upon her chest and looked at the golden sun climbing its way across the sky, giving everlasting life to the village below.

_Become stronger, Kakashi, and protect every person in this village. Become stronger for me, for Naruto, and for Konoha. The future. rests in your hands. _

"Kakashi," the ground beneath Tsunade crumpled as she jerked herself backward for an elbow hook, "DUCK!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Athena rummaged through the books she borrowed from the library. Due to her 'unverified' status, she could only check out historical and info books. _I wanted look into ninja arts, _she sighed and opened _Konoha: a history, _the hardcover allowance provided turned out to be more than enough, and she bought a used sewing machine and some fabric to make winter clothes and an extra blanket. _It makes me feel like a freeloader, _she thought, _doing nothing but still having a place to stay and money to buy stuff. _She tried to remember a time when she was unemployed, but gave up.

A bell rang from afar. The sun has set against on the horizon, dying the sky deep purple. She looked down at the street crowded with passing people. A few of them were pointing up to her windows, but immediately withdrew their hands when they saw her staring at them in disgust. There was a wide-spread rumor among the villagers that she needed only to look into someone's eyes to know their deepest and darkest secrets. _What rubbish, _she growled silently. Most kept their distance, which made it hard to prove that she meant them no harm; some worshiped her as a sorceress, which made it even worse.

Then there was her neighbor. It's not comforting having a next door neighbor who was an ANBU captain specializing in assassination, and who was acting as both her guardian and her jailer. On top of that, she couldn't shake off the feeling of being spied on. A strange scent of caramel, menthol, and bubblegum followed her whenever she stepped outside.

Knock knock.

She put the book down and went to look through the peephole. _Kakashi? _She gasped. Despite being puzzled by his lack of communication for the last ten days, she was comforted by the possibility that it meant her status as a threat to the village had been cleared. _Obviously not, _she paused a little before opening the door.

"Good evening," her neighbor cheerfully said upon seeing her.

"Good evening," she replied, unable to hide her irritation and anxiety. Then she noticed his body, all soiled and ripped. She could make out fresh nicks and scratches on his hands and feet. _Tsk, what kind of trouble does he get himself in everyday? _

"Um, may I come in?" he asked politely.

"Oh," she said quickly, "please come in."

As he walked pass her, she could smell the strong scent of earth, sweat, and crushed grass, mixed with the unmistakable rusty smell of blood. The shampoo and body wash scent had diminished throughout the day, leaving his body with only a faint envelope of clean saffron and oak moss. Kakashi's natural odor smelled like heated metal and burning incense, on which grew a lone ghost orchid. It was inexplicably unfathomable—warm yet cool, strong yet tender, and familiar yet distanced. A soft and deep chuckle disrupted her analysis.

"Did you smell something interesting?"

"Am I that transparent?" she gave a forced smile. _Is nothing sacred around here? _She scowled. _I'll __never catch a break with you, will I? _It seemed that Kakashi had made it his personal mission to disallow her from lying.

"No, I'm just good at reading people," he smirked underneath his mask.

"That, and arrogant,"she bit back. Her tone was a bit harsher than she had intended. It probably wasn't the best choice, considering that the man in front of her had killed people when she was still learning how to ride a bike. Her anger wiped Kakashi's smirk off his face. He seemed troubled by it, and quickly apologized for being out of line. He explained that it was a bad joke on his part, that he thought they were on friendly terms, that he found her ability in identifying scent fascinating.

"I'm impressed," he concluded.

"If you want to be impressed, you should have met my father instead of me," she retorted.

"It's hard to imagine someone better than you," he muttered out the best compliment he could think of, which wasn't that difficult considering how much practice he had with Yamato.

She snorted, "who taught you that? Your father?"

"My father died before he could teach me flattery," he said.

Her eyes widened, then lowered to the floor. He put his hands in his pocket and took one step towards her, towering over her head with his height and an intense stare.

"So, why are you here?" she finally asked.

"I'm out of bandages. I just want to ask if you have clean strips of left-over fabric that I can use to dress my wounds."

It didn't take long for her to look around for things in a tiny studio. Upon getting what he had come for, Kakashi immediately said goodbye.

"Um, do you need help with dressing your wounds?"

"No, I'm good." His tone was cold and full of disdain. He went inside his own apartment and shut his door, leaving her standing in the hall.

—————————————————————————————

_It's lovely tonight, _she thought. Sakura was taking one of her night walks near the regular training ground. She preferred it over the numbered ones specifically for ninjas because this track was often empty. _Well, it's also dinner time right now, _she thought and looked up. A pale moon had already appeared, bathing the track in its milky light as the purple space around it was darkening into shades of indigo.

She stood still and looked at the sky. Its color made her think of Sasuke. Dark, lovely, and far away. However, that was the Sasuke she knew when they were children, not the Sasuke who had returned only to betray them again. She heard footsteps on the track. _Someone's here? _Sakura hid behind the trunk of a weeping willow and observed the track. The moon was bright, so it wasn't hard to make out the face of the runner. _Hayanashi Athena. _

Athena ran without realizing that she was being watched, not only by Sakura but also by two other genins. She ran barefoot on the track filled with sand. Around her were shrubs of jasmine, looking like white dimples on a blackened backdrop. Jasmine reminded her of her childhood home. It also reminded her of her mother and her muffins.

"_No, I'm good," he said without looking at her. He was holding his newest juice under the light, examining the pale citric yellow within the glass tube. She stood behind him, holding ten of her own juices, all of which had been marked as 'unfitable for even a sport perfume.'_

She ran faster. Her foot landed hard on the ground, kicking up brown dust as they passed. The air was still and silent. She continued running, faithfully breathing in and out.

"_No, I'm good," Kakashi snorted at her offer. Without even looking at her, he coldly turned his back._

She ran faster. Her heart beat faster.

"_You call this creation?" He held it under her nose. "This is mere imitation! This is rubbish!" He threw the glass tube into the wall as she stood watching and apologizing. "Get out of here!"_

The faster she ran, the clearer the echoes became, until she could only hear both voices ringing inside her head. Her finger tips felt numb, but she tightened her fingers into fists and kept on running. She ran until her throat went dry and the soles of her feet got burnt by friction and her tears ran horizontally towards her ears instead of downward on her cheeks. She ran faster and faster, until she could no longer differentiate between her world and this world. Her heart suddenly let out a powerful squeeze, sending her toppling over.

Athena let out a small cry, and fell onto the sand on her knees and palms. Her breath was short, difficult, and frantic. Sharp pain was shooting up and down her left arm and inside her chest. GoddamnShe punched the sand. It only aggravated her heart even more, and she fell onto her side. The moon had come out in full view. A pale milky moon. Like a pearl on a bed of velvet.

"So you _do_ care about these things after all," a voice startled her.

Sakura stepped out from behind the willow tree. The woman before her immediately sat up, her hand over her chest. She addressed her, obviously annoyed, "have you people never heard of the word privacy?"

Disregarding the woman's contempt, Sakura kneeled down next to her and concentrated her chakra into her palm. "Let me take a look at your heart," she said. _It's overworked, _Sakura placed her healing palm on Athena's chest, _her heart cannot handle this kind of activity. _She led the chakra to envelope the heart, forcing it back to a slower rhythm.

"You'll be fine now," she said, "but you shouldn't push yourself like this anymore or it can be dangerous."

Sakura looked at the woman, whose mouth no longer curved in sarcastic bemusement, and whose eyes had lost their apathetic color. She looked like a victim lost and trapped within a storm. For the first time, Sakura felt pity for her, as if a bit of her sorrow had passed to her through the healing chakra.

"What kind of person is Kakashi?" the woman asked finally.

"Eh?" her question caught Sakura off guard. _Why would she want to know about Kakashi-sensei? _She said, "Kakashi-sensei is known as a genius and also the best ninja of his generation. He's also known as _Kakashi the Sharingan User _or _Kakashi the Copy Ninja _for having copied over..."

"No," Athena interrupted her, "I meant, as a person, how is he?"

Sakura took a few minutes to consider her answer, "Kakashi-sensei...is very laid-back and carefree. He's always late to everything and often speaks very bluntly about sensitive things. He's harsh in training, and he's a pervert for reading those books of his. He's also very secretive, always wearing a mask and not disclosing anything personal about him.

But...he has always put his life on the line to protect us. He's at times warm, caring, and encouraging. He's one that everyone trusts and is glad to have as their leader."

"He sounds like a good person," she said.

"I would say so, especially since he stood up for you," Sakura replied flatly. _What? _The woman stared at her wide eyed. "I recommended the Hokage to hand you over to the Interrogation Squad, but Kakashi-sensei stood up for you. He thought you might be innocent."

"Well," she eyeballed the big forehead in front of her, "do you think I'm innocent?"

"I don't know," Sakura replied, "you lied about your feeling. You laughed at my concern for your health. You're a creep for knowing everything about everyone here, even things we don't wish to share, while keeping yourself a secret." _It's unfair, _Sakura angrily thought, _that you knew these things about us against our wills and yet offered nothing personal of yourself in return. _"In short, I don't like you."

"Well, I don't like you either," Athena said then stood up. She hesitated, then said, "but thank you for helping me."

Then she left, leaving Sakura alone on the track.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Kakashi got out of the shower, grabbed the towel, and began to dry himself. He could feel the muscles in his body stretching and protesting against the rigorous exercise he put them through. _It's been a while since I trained like this after all, _he sighed and looked at the mirror. A pair of mix-match eyes stared back at him. Kakashi hated looking at reflection of himself. It brought back such unpleasant memories.

He put on his ANBU shirt and the mask. Usually he would wear a ninja shirt over it, but tonight had no breeze and summer's heatwave seemed to have reached its height. He sat down on the bed and started to wrap his ankles and wrists in clean strips of fabric. He sighed in relief that most of the wounds were minor scratches, and went to work on bandaging his throbbing ankles, wrists, and knuckles. Five minutes later he was done, and Kakashi let himself fall backward onto the bed. His eyes lazily looked at the popcorn ceiling, trying to make out shapes and figures on the rough texture.

Knock knock.

_Go away, _he silently wished and stayed perfectly still.

Knock knock, a bit louder.

Kakashi resolved to stay absolutely and exactly where he was.

Knock knock knock knock knock knoc...

"WHAT IS IT?" he opened the door without even looking through the peephole first.

Athena was standing before him. Wet strands of hair stuck to her forehead and neck as big drops of sweat continued to roll down her skin. She smelled like dirty salt. "I already told you. I don't need your hel..."

"I'm sorry!" she interupted him. Kakashi let her wait for a long and excruciating moment without making a sound. "I was out of line. I shouldn't have mentioned your father. Please forgive my rudeness!"

"Why's the sudden change of heart?" he asked coldly, still unwilling to let her off the hook so easily.

"I went for a run," she told him the truth, "I remembered my father and how much it hurt to even think of him. I'm not saying it's the same for you, but I realized that a stranger like me had no rights to evoke your father's presence."

"I agree. You had no rights," he said without easing his tone or widening his door.

Athena looked at the man before her. His open eye was stern and immovable. It was a deep grayish blue, as bottomless as a pit. Without his forehead protector, she could make out the long deep scar running vertically over the closed sharingan.

"I'm sorry," she said defeated and stepped away.

"Wait," Kakashi sighed, "you came and apologized. I shouldn't be so difficult." His voice returned to its normal laid-back casual state. "It's all forgotten, alright?"

She still had on her face a disbelieving and confused expression. _Um, maybe I scared her a bit too well, _he regretted, _it made me look like a big meanie. _"Look, why don't you come in and have some tea?"

He opened his door and laughed forgivingly, but that still hadn't completely convinced his neighbor. She came in and stood by the table as if she had just come into a wolf cave.

"Please sit down. Do you need a towel?"

She nodded, and he walked towards the armoir to look for one.

_So this is his place, _Athena looked around. It was the approximate version of her apartment, except bigger and more lived-in. There was a door next to the bed leading to a balcony. The kitchen had a dishwasher and an actual dining area. The decoration consisted of very few pictures, some maps, plants, and hanging scrolls. There was a huge armoir, which she had no doubt also hold weapons and ninja tools. Kakashi's bookshelves were packed, and she looked at them with envy.

"You can borrow my books if you'd like," he said—having noticed her ardent stare at his collection—while handing her a soft blue towel. She walked over and was about to grab one of the Icha Icha series. "Not that one," he quickly stopped her, "the bathroom's over there."

She walked into the bathroom and shut the door. His shower was twice as big as hers, with a better faucet. The sink was also larger, and behind her stood a five-foot tall medicine cabinet. She quickly washed her face, then wet the tower and rinsed away the sweat and dirt from running.

When she emerged from the bathroom, he had already finished making tea. This was the first time she saw his bare arms and the red tattoo of a fiery swirl on his left shoulder. She grimaced at the faint scars all over his arms. Against her own will, her stomach growled so loud that it caught Kakashi's attention.

"Oh, you're hungry?" he said, looking embarrassed, "I don't think I cooked anything..."

"It's fine," she said. However, the growling of her stomach betrayed her again. _Will you stop? _She pressed her hand on it. "Just tea is fine."

Kakashi looked at her and considered something for a moment, then he grabbed his ninja shirt, "look, I haven't eaten anything either. Why don't we go to the sushi-ya four blocks from here? It'll be my treat."

"But, what about the tea?"

"Don't worry about it," he shook his hands to and fro, "I'll make it into ice tea later."

———————————————————————————————

The sushi-ya was crowded. Luckily, Kakashi whispered something into the hostess' ears that made her cheeks glow and got them a private booth. She asked him what he said, but he just told her to not worry about it.

"Please order anything you like," he said cheerfully. _This counts as a mission's expense, right? _Kakashi chuckled with satisfaction. He wasn't a food connoisseur, but the guilty pleasure of free and expensive food was hard to resist. _Let see, I'll have that expensive sake and the blue fin tuna and..._

As he contemplated his order, Athena watched him. The man before her who was reading his menu with the same enthusiasm as a child looked nothing like a trained assassin. _Then again, _she reminded herself_, that pink hair girl looks nothing like a doctor. _A waitress came and they placed their orders. _Damn, he has expensive taste, _noted Athena. She was secretly glad she wasn't in charge of the bills.

"Please, eat!" he said, noticing her reluctance to take up the chopsticks.

_Are you kidding? _she thought, _I want to see your real face first._ Athena noted this was the first time in her life she had gone out alone with a man whose face she didn't even know. "You're technically my senpai. Please, take the first bite!"

"You're making me feel old," he feinted a sad face, "I'm only 5 years your senior, you know?"

_Yeah yeah, _she was itching for him to get started. "Please, you're the one who's treating me," she said, half expected him to come up with some lame excuses. Instead he just said, "okay then," and picked up the chopsticks.

Athena opened her eyes as wide and sharp as she could on his face. Kakashi picked up a piece of simmered butter fish, and dipped it into the golden brown sauce in front of him. He inhaled the delicious scent and admired the glistening opaque meat. Itadakimatsu_, _he started to bring it towards his mouth. Athena couldn't tear her eyes away, and she wasn't the only person doing so. The sushi-ya got very quiet, and all eyes were directed towards the silver hair ninja. The piece of fish came closer and higher. It had passed his chin now and was only inches away from his mouth covered by the mask. Kakashi widened his mouth underneath the mask, his fingers were ready to drop the fish.

Whoosh!!

The chopsticks no longer held on to anything, Kakashi's eyes were closed in perfect contentment, and his jaws were moving in a chewing motion. The dark blue mask still sat upon his nose bridge. There was a great disappointed sigh exhaled from everybody. Goddamn it_, _she cussed. She picked up her pair of chopsticks and proceeded to attack the food without even looking at him to ease her frustration.

"Ah, see? I knew you were hungry!" he laughed in blissful ignorance and continued eating.

...

"My father was disappointed in me," she said suddenly in the middle a bite.

Kakashi dropped his piece of blue fin tuna into the sauce dish, and the dark soy sauce sputtered out on the table. _Now? Her timing needs some improvement!_ He took the paper napkin and cleaned up the mess, then he waited for her to continue.

"He's a master of scent, the best wizard in perfumery." She bit and swallowed a piece of tempura sweet potato. "When I was a kid, he would tell me stories by scent. He would take out smelling strips, putting several of them together, and chocolat or strawberry would appear in the air.

"Once, I challenged him to make me the scent of winter. Without hesitation, he laid rosemary and pine leaves on a large bowl of crushed ice, and made winter appear. Turned out the scent of winter is made up of our absolute lack of smelling capacity due to the cold atmosphere," she laughed.

"You must be very proud of him," he said.

"It was never enough," she said, "he demanded and demanded and criticized. I studied from him for two years, and every single one of my creations he shot down. Then when I got a company who was interested in one of my scents, he told me what I had was rubbish imitation and fired me from his perfumery."

She concluded in a dull empty note, then continued with her meal. Kakashi decided it wasn't time to ask her anything except, "would you like some sake?"

———————————————————————————————

"Are you okay there?" he asked as his neighbor bent over and barfed into the garbage disposal. _Maybe I shouldn't have let her drink, _he thought as she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. He remembered the time when he used to check up on Naruto's eating habits. _That kid grew up so fast, _he smiled. "Can you walk?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry," she got up to her feet, "my tolerance for alcohol has always been...well, I don't really drink."

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Um, I didn't want to be rude," she replied. "You were treating me..."

"There's no need to overcompensate for lashing out at me earlier. I don't hold grudges."

"Really?"

"Well, if I still hold a grudge towards you, seeing you barf should solve it," he casually replied. Kakashi continued in his cool laid-back tone, "usually I'd kill the person who speaks about my father that way, but you just made an honest mistake, so...no hard feeling!" he laughed.

She consciously measured how far away from him she was. _Why do I feel like I'm being threatened? _The sake made her a bit tipsy, and she was about to lose her balance when he grabbed her right arm and pulled her upright. "Be careful now," he said.

"Thanks," she smiled. He reminded her of a protective brother, or a dedicated teacher, who spent their life worrying about others while keeping their own affairs hidden from everyone and suffering alone.

"Athena, you look nice when you smile," he said, "do that and people will treat you differently."

It was as if he could open her like a book and pointed out every misshape, and no matter what type of lock she put on, she could never prevent him from the truth. "That's really unfair," she whispered.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Sakura told me I'm a creep," she said, "because I know things about people against their wills without offering anything personal of myself in return."

"Sakura was just frustrated. She probably didn't really mean it."

She chuckled at his comforting, then considered for a moment her next words.

"Kakashi, in that sense, aren't you a creep also?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Me? A creep?" Kakashi pointed at himself. _That's the first, _he frowned underneath his mask, _I thought she was going to call me a pervert or something. This is even worse, isn't it?_

"I've just shared with you a personal story, but you shared nothing in return."

Kakashi was used to being criticized for his secrecy, but so far they had all respected his wish and asked no further than what he allowed them to know. Looking at her, however, he knew she wouldn't let him get away with a lazy off-topic comment or an elaborate excuse. He considered disappearing and leaving her behind; then he glanced at her. Her cheeks were rosy due to the alcohol, and she was walking on a narrow zig-zag line. _Tsk, no one's here at this hour, _he looked around, _I can't just leave her alone. _He continued thinking. _Well, I guess I can m..._

"If you lie, I'll know," she said.

"Well, what do you want to know?" he feinted surrender. "My dreams and hobbies? Likes and dislikes?"

"I'm not one of your students," Athena gently corrected, "I just want you to share with me one of your scars, since I shared mine with you."

The conversation was starting to make him uncomfortable. He had no wish to recount his past to anyone, especially to one who never knew the way of a shinobi. _Scars, she said?_ He remembered the countless bodies on the battlefield, and those who didn't even have enough of their bodies for a proper funeral. _Obito. _He forcefully brushed the thought off his mind. Something suddenly snapped inside him, and his voice lowered into a dismal tone.

"You think my life is fascinating?" he looked directly at her, "you have no idea what it really means to be a shinobi. I have no desire to share anything with you."

A cold breeze suddenly lifted itself out of nothingness and passed between them. The pale moon hung like a giant drop of tear about to fall down on earth. Athena looked into Kakashi's eye and saw in its calm blue a pain so deep and wide like a great river one could never cross. She could not imagine how much more painful his expression would look without the mask obstructing half his face. A compassionate tear silently rolled down her left cheek as she understood that her own suffering was only a prick of a needle compared to the wound inside his heart.

"It must hurt a lot then," she wiped away her tear, "this life of a shinobi."

Her reaction surprised him. He was half-expecting her to spout out some insults like earlier in the evening. Instead, she was patiently waiting for him. Her eyes didn't have the admiring glitter of a young girl towards a love interest. In fact, she didn't look excited or happy at all. She looked cautious, vulnerable, and sad. Something about her reminded Kakashi of himself. The sadness. The street was empty and very quiet. He could hear the sighing of street cats, and the random crackle of dry leaves.

"I killed many people," he said, trying to keep his voice as placid as possible, "both out of self-defense and out of orders. A shinobi suppresses his emotions to become a perfect killing machine with the mission in mind, but..."

His throat closed up, and he opened both his eyes to meet hers. The Sharingan glowed blood-red under the bluish tone of the night. His eyes looked like they were crying, yet all the tears were flowing backward.

"That's why Naruto is special. He's changing what it means to be a shinobi." Kakashi stopped on his track. Looking into the blue hazel eyes of Hayanashi Athena, he hardened his voice, "that's why I won't allow anyone to harm him."

His blue and red eyes, cold as ice and hot as fire, rested upon her face like two daggers next to an enemy's throat. Her gentle and playful neighbor disappeared, and the man before her became her judge. This sudden change of atmosphere froze her.

"Hayanashi Athena, I will ask you these questions only once. Are you here to spy on us?"

"N...no," she tried to swallow down her stuttering.

"Are you in anyway associated with Akatsuki or any ninja organizations?"

"No."

"Are you here to gather information on Naruto or a specific member of the Konoha's ninja force?"

"No, no I'm not."

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"Yes I am!" she yelled at him, "I've told you that already. What's wrong with you people?"

"We need to make sure you're not a threat," he said flatly.

"But I didn't do anything!"

The alcohol was making her dizzy. The round moon shape twisted and blurred as if it were painted on a wrinkled curtain. Her right leg suddenly gave out, and she fell on her knee.

"It was an order," he kneeled down next to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder as if to offer some comfort.

"All the friendly gestures and the kind words, they were to goad me on?"

"Certain things take precedent over hurt feelings," he said.

"You're telling me to get over myself."

"You're doing it again," he frowned, "you're making it harder on yourself and on the other person. I could have had it easier on myself by having you thrown in jail and let the interrogation squad do their job."

"_I recommended the Hokage to hand you over to the Interrogation Squad, but Kakashi-sensei stood up for you. He thought you might be innocent." _

The bright moonlight lit up patches of his silver hair. Kakashi closed his eyes and contemplated something for a few minutes, then turned to Athena with a kind expression on his face.

Kakashi himself wasn't exactly a model in amicable attitude. He was widely known for his callous and confrontational way of conversing, which pissed off more than enough of his colleagues. At first, he had dreaded the thought of feinting politeness around some woman, but Athena appeared to be just as blunt and insensitive as he, especially in the way she treated the confiding of personal secrets as a fair information exchange. _However, _he thought, _she's a kind person at heart._

"You cried for me," he said, "a stranger and a killer."

"Weren't you just acting?" she asked.

"No," he replied firmly.

"But you didn't trust me. Why did you tell me anything if you didn't trust me?"

"Well," he hesitated for a moment, "I guess I hoped, or rather wanted, you to be innocent."

Kakashi turned away from her and looked at the sky. His voice became at once old and timeless.

"I'd like to believe that the world is changing, and that most people are friends, not enemies."

His voice was filled with hope, yet not without a tint of sadness. His eye returned to her face. The dark grayish blue was close and yet distant, caring but also piercing, open...yet unfathomable.

———————————————————

The next morning she woke up with the warm sunlight on her face. _It must be morning, _she yawned. Without opening her eyes, she pressed her face into the pillow to hide from the sun. Athena sighed with pleasure and stretched her body along the bed. Wrapping herself in the soft blanket, she felt like being cuddled. She pressed her nose against the pillow and inhaled deeply. It was a warm sandalwood scent mixed with fresh and cool oak moss. Lingered between those synthetic scent molecules was a faint body odor left in the fabric threads through daily use. It reminded her of metal and wood together, something very hard and yet surprisingly tender. It reminded her of something she had smelled before.

She suddenly remembered that her own pillow was flat with cheap cotton cover, her mattress hard and thin, and her blanket a quilt of cheap left-over fabric bought in bulk at the store. Athena opened her eyes. The pillow under her head was rich and full of soft stuffing. The blanket she wrapped herself into was insulated and olive green with black shuriken pattern. _Also, that scent..._

"Oh you're up," a lazy and slightly muffled voice jerked her mind awake. She directed her eyes towards the foot of the bed and gasped at the sight of Hatake Kakashi, fully clothed in his jounin outfit, with a glass of something in his right hand. His left hand was in his pant pocket.

Upon seeing him, she automatically pulled the cover over her head like an embarrassed five-year-old. The thought of having gotten herself so drunk that she had to vacate at his place overnight was beyond humiliating. _I'm almost twenty-five forgodsake, _she scolded herself for making a grown man take care of her like a baby.

Oblivious to her humiliation, Kakashi looked at the figure hidden beneath the blanket, a bit surprised at himself. He didn't recall ever having anyone else except himself on his bed for the night. His few affairs were often carried out somewhere else, though he did recall some rare 'encounters' here. However, they were always over when the moon was still high out; he preferred to walk them home right after and then sleep on his own bed alone. _'I have a very narrow bed,' _he would tell them.

Now there was a woman in his bed, whom he had not bedded nor had he any intention to do so, who had stayed until morning.

"How's your hangover?" he asked.

Athena heard a dull and soft thud right next to her as he placed the glass down on the nightstand, and she hid herself even further beneath the blanket. He was still standing there, making no intention to move. Hiding from him using his blanket, which was soaked in that unfathomable scent of his, proved to be a futile and poorly-thought-out plan on her part. His scent was enveloping her, making her feel more engulfed in his presence. Slowly she peeled down the blanket and peered at the figure looming over her.

"Good morning," she said weakly.

"Good morning," he replied in his usual indifferent tone, "Drink this. It'll help with your hangover."

"Thanks," _and would you stop calling it a 'hangover'?_

"Your face looks flushed," he bent down and quickly placed his bare knuckles on her forehead, "are you sick?"

She was too embarrassed to stop him, so she lied quietly as he inspected her temperature. The forehead protector was once again covering his left eye. In the sunlight, Kakashi appeared more like a normal man than a soldier. It was the first time she had seen his face so close-up. _He's quite good-looking, _she thought, _even with that mask on. _

"Well, you seem fine. Just rest for the day."

"I can't," she sat up, suddenly reminded of her plan, "I offered to help out at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar."

"The allowance we gave you wasn't enough? I can talk to the treasury for you if you want."

"Oh no," she got out of the bed and started looking for her shoes, "I just...want to help out."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? I've been a diligent taxpayer for six years, I'm not planning to be a social burden anytime soon," she put on her shoes and was rushing towards the door.

"Okay," he replied flatly, but quickly grabbed her wrist as she reached for the doorknob, "but simmer down and drink your tea first."

She took the glass from him and emptied it. "Good," he was satisfied when she returned the empty glass back to him, "when do you have to go to work?"

"This evening," she answered.

Now that he was done with his investigation of her, Athena could spot the change in his behavior. Before, he didn't want to offend her. Now, he didn't give a rat ass what she would think of him. In fact, he sounded more like he was giving out commands rather than being caring. _A character flaw I guess, _she chuckled silently. She liked him more this way, less phony and more direct. Plus, it probably meant he really believed in her innocence if he chose to be himself around her.

"There's a park on the east side of the library. Go there and enjoy the sunshine. It'll be good for you," Kakashi put the glass down on the table. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he said, "I'll be there for an afternoon reading if you care to join."

He gave her two small green capsules, which smelled like bitter melons, and told her to take them in case of headache. "I'm meeting with the Hokage today," he opened the door, "I'll tell her that you're innocent."

"Thank you," she said, after he had closed the door on her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Tsunade slightly sipped her tea. A small breeze swayed the wind charm by the window. _It's a good day to try my luck, _she opened the bottom drawer of her desk and took out a newspaper and a bright pink lotter ticket. A smile appeared on her youthful face. _Ho ho ho, _she started scratching out the ten numbers with her finger nails, _four five zero one..._

"Hokage-sama, Hyuga Neji is here to see you."

She stopped, _I got four of them right! _Tsunade restrained herself from continuing and ordered Shizune to let Neji in. She folded the newspaper carefully with the ticket inside it, and put them back into her bottom drawer. A tall young man entered her office and respectfully presented himself.

"How was your mission?"

"It was a success, Hokage-sama. We've located the remaining members of Akatsuki and planted the tracking devices on them, with the exception of Uchiha Mandara."

"Good," she said, "I suspect it wasn't exactly a walk in the park?" She glanced at him and noted a few well-hidden injuries as well as joint dislocations just recently reset.

"Nothing can escape your eyes, Hokage-sama," Neji confirmed her guess, "we had to engage in battle to implant the devices. Luckily, they had no intention to engage in fighting, and we was able to cease the fight without casualty or suspicion."

In the past year, a new tracking device has been developed in the village of Leaf. Unlike others before it, the new device tracks specifically only the chakra of the person it is attached upon. The tracker implanted the device in its Tabula Rasa (Blank Slate) into the chakra emitting from the target during direct combat, and the device automatically assimilates itself with the chakra, which makes it undetectable to the target. A tracking device that cannot be removed, detected, or deactivated. _Morpho Seed. _

However, the making of every morpho seed takes the chakra of ten jounins and five weeks. The surveillance of the morpho seed signals consist of fifteen specialists, making up three groups with continuous shifts. Every surveillance shift lasts five days and the group will be unable to perform until five days afterward. These drawbacks in combination with the highly risky method of implant makes it the last option of surveillance used only towards opponents such as Akatsuki. _It was lucky we didn't have to sacrifice anyone to implant the device, _Tsunade was relieved, _since direct combat is the only way we can implant and activate them. _The man who developed this tracking device along with Shizune and Yamato was no other than...

"Hokage-sama...! Oh, I didn't know Neji-kun was here."

"That's fine. Come in and join us. What Neji has to say might concern your team, Kakashi."

The silver hair jounin came into the room. His eye was fixed on the young man standing before Tsunade. The young man had a mysterious expression on his face, one of both satisfaction and anxiety.

"Can it be," Kakashi said, "that you've found Sasuke?"

"Sasuke is currently traveling with the Akatsuski members," Neji confirmed, "I couldn't plant the device on him because he didn't engage in combat." _Come to think of it, _he thought, _we were lucky to be able to fight and escape without casualties with just three members._

No one spoke for a while. The name Uchiha Sasuke had become almost a taboo word for those who had known him. Kakashi glanced at the door and his feet moved by themselves.

"Kakashi!" As if known what he intended to do, Tsunade spoke up, "you're not allowed to tell anyone else about this. It's an order!"

"Hokage-sama..."

"If Naruto knows about this, what do you think he'll do? He'll rush out like before and get himself killed. His first priority is to recover and train," her voice was stern, "since we've successfully planted the tracking device, there's no rush to get to them now."

She stood up from her table and moved to the center of the room. "This was a secret mission to begin with. I let you in because I needed your skill and trusted that you'll be more rational about Sasuke than Naruto or Sakura. Like it or not, I'm the Hokage and I'll be the one who decides when to reveal this to Naruto, got it?"

Kakashi apologized. _Sasuke, _he wondered if he felt remorse or anger towards his former student. He remembered him growing up on his side along with Naruto and Sasuke. He had thought if he could convince Sasuke that he could give him power, and Konoha could offer him more than revenge, then things wouldn't have gone the way they did. He was foolish, and he had a scar on his stomach and back from a Chidori blade to remind him of this foolishness. _I saw myself in you_, he sighed quietly and stayed in his spot.

"On a side note, have you found out anything else about Hayanashi Athena, Kakashi?"

"No," he said dutifully, "except that she's innocent."

"Why is that?" Tsunade's voice sounded skeptical. "Just your intuition?"

"Why don't you ask Konohamaru and his teammates? I'm sure they recorded my conversation with Athena last night."

_It's expected that he knows about them, _Tsunade thought. She returned to her desk and sat down, "Still, Kakashi, she might have tried to gain your trust since you're Naruto's teacher."

"Then she was a very bad spy to try that by insulting my father," he retorted. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, all the fact points to her innocence." The next instant he was crouching on the window pane. "Well then, I have some readings to catch up. That's my report on Hayanashi Athena for you, Hokage-sama, and Neji-kun, good job on the tracking mission!"

He jumped from the window and landed on the ground below without looking back or awaiting for an approval. He half considered finding Naruto and telling him about Sasuke, but then reminded himself that he wasn't supposed to disobey an order, especially when it was made to protect his student. _It's a nice day, _he thought, _maybe Pakkun and the others would enjoy an afternoon reading. _He headed towards the park.

————————————————————————————

"Hokage-sama, may I be excused?" Neji said after Kakashi's self-dismissal.

Tsunade waved her hand to dismiss him, but not before telling him to visit a medic to tend for his wounds. She placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands, making no attempt to continue with her lottery ticket. _He's becoming a bit too attached to her, _she thought. Earlier this morning, she had received a disturbing report from Konohamaru himself. He reported seeing Kakashi bringing Hayanashi Athena to his place, and she apparently spent the night there.

_I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that he saved her, _Tsunade bit her lips, _but she ended up as a threat to us_. While it is true that gaining their trust is sometimes necessary in order to reveal a spy, but getting too close will only result in pain, confusion, and failure. _I hope he knows what he's doing, _she sighed. _It can't be helped that he feels responsible for her. That fool feels responsible for everyone._

She paused. Her worrying about Kakashi led her to someone else whom she hadn't seen for quite some time. _That pervert. _He had always passed in and out of her life, going off on his journeys to "gather research data" and then one day never returned. _Jiraiya, _she remembered how many times he had made fun of her chest, _I feel so old now that everyone I knew as a child including had died. _She looked at the youthful face of a twenty year old woman reflected on the glossy desk. _I guess I'm really living a lie, eh? Jiraiya..._

"Bring me Yamato," she called out to the guards outside, "and let Shizune know that we're ready for the first surveillance shift for the implanted morpho seeds."

She heard a prompt response and people running down the hall. Tsunade settled into her seat once again. _'All the fact,' eh? _she scoffed, _he thinks just because he's acting all tough that I'll believe he was entirely objective in judging her? _She took up her cup of tea for a sip. It was stale. _He's a real softie beneath all that apathetic attitude. _

She remembered something from very long ago.

———_Konoha Chuunin Training Ground 13———_

_Kakashi recovered his kunai and once again leaped in the air. A wind picked up from the north. The tree branches crackled. Kakashi landed on the ground without a sound. He stood up and immediately went over to the maple tree fifty feet from him to check on the results. Three small foliages detached from the bough were now pinned to the trunk—glossy patches of brick red over dark and flaky wood with three gleaming kunai on top. _

_His father had come back from a very important mission. He was in the Hokage office now, giving his report. The young ninja was anxious to show his father that he defeated the challenge laid out for him. 'I get to try father's blade this time,' he thought, trying to control his excitement by carefully packing up his training equipments._

"_Kakashi," a woman voice called him. _

"_Tsunade-hime," he recognized her immediately, "why are you here?"_

_Tsunade looked at the child before her. He was the spitting image of his father. The silver spiky hair, the lazy gaze that turned intense during battle, the tall and confident stature, they even were alike in their incredible talents in the ninja arts. Looking at him, she couldn't bear to disclose what she overheard walking by the Hokage's office._

"_You're getting pretty good with the kunai," she said, "I heard from Minato you managed to win against him in a kunai battle last training."_

"_Sensei let me win," the child scoffed, "he didn't even use his Flying Thunder God technique."_

_'He wanted to win against Minato in real combat?' Tsunade chuckled. 'What a kid.' "Even so, that was extremely impressive that you knocked Minato's kunai out of his hand," she said._

"_It didn't matter," Kakashi said dryly, "Sensei was just playing around."_

_'Sakumo, this child is truly your child,' she thought._

"_Tsunade-hime, would you fight me using your taijutsu?" he asked._

"_Huh?" she was caught off-guard. Tsunade laughed, "do you want to die early? Even Sakumo, your father, had never challenged me to a taijutsu fight before."_

"_Father told me he never hits women unless they're enemies," Kakashi said with a proud and arrogant tone._

_'You brat,' Tsunade's blood began to boil, but at the same time her heart warmed. Finally, she chuckled again at the little chuunin before her, who was looking at her with hopeful eyes. "I don't have time today. Maybe sometime tomorrow."_

"_Fine then," Kakashi shrugged, "I have to be home soon anyway. My father has returned from his mission."_

_As he turned his back to her to depart the training ground, Tsunade stopped him, "Kakashi, your father, he's a hero. Not just to us, but to the ninja world."_

"_I know," the kid turned and looked at her. Beneath his mask, he looked like he was smiling, "and I'll become a hero like him someday."_

————————————————————————

Tsunade opened her eyes to find the familiar face of Yamato before her. She immediately sat up, "why didn't you say anything?"

"Hokage-sama seems to be deep in thoughts," he said, "I didn't want to interrupt you."

Yamato's face was as always: cool, calm, without any particular emotions. The long training as an ANBU had had an influence in the making of his placid facial expression. He remembered the hours he had to spend as a child in the Cells Examination department, the countless health checks he continued to have well into adulthood. His being alive apparently was a miracle. _Tenzo, _that's who he was. Without a last name. Without an origin. Without a family.

The people he liked could be counted on the finger tips of two hands. Then again, he wasn't sure about his attachment to them either. He felt great admiration and respect towards Kakashi-senpai, Hokage-sama, and some other elites. He felt some affection towards his former team, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai. After that, Yamato held no specific feeling towards anyone. His was a busy life, but moreover, he just couldn't figure what it meant to be fall into the ocean of someone else's soul. Instead, he prized himself on being a rational and logical ninja, which resulted in his unbeatable high rate of successful missions.

"Yamato, there's something I want you to check on for me," Tsunade said. "You heard about a woman called Hayanashi Athena?"

"Yes, I have," he said without hesitation, "Kakashi-senpai saved her and is currently in charge of her. She holds a lot of important and coveted information on our task force, and is potentially a civillian spy."

"She also knows about our treaty with the Hidden Village of Sand, information on their Kazekage, their ninjutsu techniques, etc. A throughout memory search will turn up more unpleasant news I'm afraid."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama," he said, "why isn't she in custody?"

"In case she's innocent," she replied, "and Kakashi thinks she is."

"You don't believe that?"

"I trust Kakashi's ability," Tsunade said promptly, "but I know he can be a bit...irrationally protective, especially towards those he sees as his responsibilities to protect."

"You think Kakashi-senpai is too attached to this woman due to his being her savior, thus blinding him to an objective evaluation of her identity?"

"Well, not exactly as harsh as you put it," she frowned at Yamato's bluntness, "but I'm a bit worried."

"I understand and apologize for my statement, Hokage-sama. What would you like me do?"

"Find him and talk to him. Then, if you have a chance, observe Hayanashi Athena and give me your own evaluation of her."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

_He could see the moon rising through the horizontal screen barely open across the window. A brown-red dusty circle surrounded the pale yellow orb, making it bloodshot against the smooth indigo of the sky. He swore he could hear the wind howled. The bed stirred gently. She was rolling onto her side, her head rested on his shoulder. The silver moonlight poured on her skin, as smooth as satin. He could make out her slightly open mouth, her wet and succulent cherry lips, and her long eyelashes... _

"Kakashi, I haven't finished reading the last paragraph!" Biscuit protested as his master turned the page.

"Biscuit, you always take too long to read!" the other dogs scolded him. They were spreading out underneath the shade of a large maple tree. Kakashi had his back against the tree trunk with his book open on his lap, his left hand was scratching Pakkun's stomach. It was a quiet afternoon with not much sun. White butterflies filled the grassier area where the wild flowers were growing free. The silver hair ninja leisurely put the beige color hound on his shoulder and replaced the previous page.

"Here you go," he said.

—————————————————————————

Athena looked at the green elevation of earth before her, spreading wide towards all four directions. The air was sweet and clear. It reminded her of the outskirt surrounding Nîmes, of that southern air both ancient and young. The sun was mild, and there wasn't a blotch of cloud in the sky. She took off her shoes and held them in her left hand. In her right hand was _Konoha: a History. _She walked across the rolling field of grass towards the group of large maples, stopping now and then to look at the wild flowers. Her eyes caught a familiar figure, surrounded by at least six hounds. He appeared to be reading like he said he would. _I should probably leave him alone, _she lightened her footsteps and changed her direction.

"This lass smells interesting!" a voice startled her. She looked down: a petit coffee color pug was sniffing her ankle. _What the hell? _She looked at the dog, stupefied. Pakkun returned her stare, and said, "I haven't smelled a scent like this ever."

She might have screamed as she jerked her leg up and attempted to kick the pug away. Pakkun instantly leaped in the air and returned to his owner's lap. She felt her stomach drop as Kakashi closed his book despite Biscuit's protest, turned his half-asleep eye towards her, and chuckled aloud. _She really came, eh? _Her reaction to Pakkun was at once hilarious and so innocent it made him feel quite old.

Hatake Kakashi couldn't recall a period during which he had felt young. He recalled the first time he had held a kunai and killed a man. He didn't feel very bad afterward. _Not really. _He remembered the feel of hot blood rushing out from the slashed-open chest, pouring over his bare hands. Afterthat, he prefered to wear gloves. It wasn't really pleasant to feel a life seeping away at your hands. His youthfullness, how short or faint it might have been, had slipped away from him at that moment.

Maybe that's why she seemed like a child to him, even though her bearing and years affirmed the undeniable fact that she was a woman. He wondered what it felt like: growing up not knowing the stench of blood, the devastation of war, and the coldness of a kill. His lazy eye searched her face.

Athena was fainting heavily. Her eyes fixated on Pakkun as if she had seen a ghost. She clutched her book and her shoes to her chest, as if to shield herself from some invisible attacks. Her chocolate hair had gotten free from the hair clip in her panic. Waves of it were framing her flushed cheeks and her bare shoulder.

Unlike most the women he knew, Athena's choice of clothing was surprising simple. Always knee-length dresses in solid colors. There wasn't even any decoration on them; the alteration was in either the shape of the collar or the sleeves. He recalled her sewing her own clothes. _She probably can't make complicated garment, _he was satisfied with his own explanation.

She had changed into an off-shoulder dress. The short sleeves, the wide modest scoop that showcased her milky shoulder, and the fitted bodice atop an a-line twirl, she appeared sweet and lovely in white. Like a pure dove under a blue clear sky atop a field freckled with bright flowers. The picture before his eye gave him a serene and uplifting feeling.

"Kakashi, you're staring," Biscuit said, and the other dogs started to laugh. Kakashi immediately directed his eye away from Athena. Biscuit continued, "Can't help it. She's a pretty one, isn't she?"

"Her jawline is a bit too square," Akino scoffed, "she's too simple. I wouldn't have figured her as your type, Kakashi."

"She's my neighbor," he quickly stopped their conjectures, _and since when do you know my type of woman? _"Tsunade-sama thought she might be a spy."

"And is she?"

"Don't think so," he said, "we don't know where her country is so she's staying here for now."

"You mean, right next door to you?" The pack let out a ferocious laugh.

He silenced their teasing as Athena collected herself and approached them. She was careful to stay away from Bull, who was the biggest of his ninja dog pack. Looking at him, she was reminded of the two times in her childhood when she was bitten by dogs. One on the shoulder when she was six, and one on the calf when she was twelve.

"Don't be scared. Bull is actually the nicest among us," Guruko said. "It's Akino, the one with the glasses, that you should watch out for."

She stared at the eight dogs surrounding the maple tree. Kakashi could hear her heartbeats booming as if they were outside of her chest. He gave her his hand. "It's alright. My dogs don't bite."

"Yeah, they talk," she said, still in shock. She took his hand and sat down next to him, like a fearful child in her first day at school taking the hand of a benevolent mentor. She could only make out his masked profile from her side, the shiny metal plate of the headband covered his eye. He appeared at ease, holding the same book in his hands.

"Are you really reading that boring book?" the pug from earlier climbed on top of Kakashi's thigh. He had caught the title of her book.

"Well, I'm not allowed to check out certain things," she said, a bit sulky.

"I'll talk to the librarian next time so you can check out anything you want," he said without looking at her. Biscuit gently licked his ear and whispered, "aren't _you_ nice, Kakashi?"

Before he could do anything, Biscuit had jumped down from his shoulder and quickly landed on Athena's lap. She tensed up as he gave her some sniffing. "You're right, Pakkun. She smells interesting."

The verdict was apparently taken as an invitation as Kakashi's hounds immediately surrounded Athena to have a try for themselves. "She has your scent on her, Kakashi," Akino quickly commented, "why's that?"

"She had to stay over at my place last night," he said with great reluctance. The pack immediately barked in unison. _Great, now they have the wrong idea, _he frowned. He turned towards Athena, who was too busy trying to hold herself together to register down Akino's remark. After his hounds were satisfied with sniffing her, they returned to their original position, lying lazily in the shade. Biscuit, however, had decided to remain on Athena's lap. She looked at him, stunned for a while, then started to shyly brush along his fur with her fingers.

"Kakashi, she has a nice touch!"

"Don't pay any attention to him," he quickly told Athena, who didn't seem to listen to him. She looked content leaning against the tress, her hair spiraling down her bare shoulder, caressing one of his ninja hounds. Her gaze was so gentle now it almost reminded him of Rin. _Rin, _he forcefully wiped that thought away.

"Why don't you lass read us something?" Pakkun suggested. She picked up her book, and the pack immediately barked in opposition. "No, read the Icha Icha one. Biscuite hasn't finished the last paragraph. Give her the book, Kakashi!"

_What? _Athena was looking at him, her hand was waiting. Kakashi hesitated and quickly scanned the first few lines of the last paragraph. _She's already an adult. Right, I shouldn't worry! _He didn't want to repeat the fiasco at the codebreaker's place, so his hands were clutching to the well-worn book, unable to let go. Finally, and with great difficulty, he came to a mental compromise and held it up so she could look at the page. The dogs exchanged quick and muffled laughs.

She looked at the page before her, and shot Kakashi a bemused expression. _Really? _She questioned him with her eyes. He quickly hid the visible part of his face from her, but she could make out the embarrased flushing on his cheeks as they heated up under the cool shadow. He cleared his throat uncomfortably several times to tell her to get started. She smiled at him._There's more to him and his life than killing and duty after all, _she thought and chuckled.

"The afternoon's not getting any younger!" the dogs barked again. Athena, having gotten over her initial shock, began reading the paragraph outloud.

Part of her dark hair was drapping over his own shoulder. The scent of white magnolia and rosewood seduced him in its quiet yet insistent allure. Kakashi leaned his head back to gain some distance from her. He couldn't recall the last time he was this close to a woman. His relationship with the fairer sex had always been brief and extrinsic, with the longest lasted a few intangible nights. Kakashi could barely remember their scents or their faces now, though he was sure at some fleeting moments in the past they had fully entranced and captivated him.

He looked at Athena's profile. Her lips were moving, and her eyes dashed along the lines. Her voice blended in with the summer chirping of birds. Darts of yellow sunbeam fell on her bare shoulder. They lit up the twinkles in her blue hazel gaze.

Kakashi felt at peace.

_Her delicate features turned airy against the night. Her chest rose and fell with every breath. A thin layer of sweat covered her sated flesh, still passionate and warm. Gently he pushed away the few dark strands obstructing her face. He loved her when they made love, and he would soon forget about her. His life wasn't his own to give. His heart was his own to possess. So he looked at her, as closely and as tenderly as he could. He looked at her every freckle, her every curve, her every color. Because he knew when she opened her eyes in the morning, he would be gone and never be back._


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

A breeze was drifting gently among the grass as the afternoon was drawing to an end. Kakashi gave a leisure yawn. At first it was strange to hear his book read aloud by a woman, but later it proved to be quite cathartic. He liked the quiet yet passionate character of her voice. She had a low and soft voice, contrary to the usual high-pitched female voice. It wasn't sultry, nor was it plain. It was honest, mature, and intriguing. He wondered if she had always sounded like this, or simply grown into it like some girls do when they become adults. He recalled the time when all the girls had squealed his name as he walked into a classroom. _Thinking back, it wasn't so bad, _he chuckled, _but you couldn't have a decent conversation with any of them. _The young Kakashi had found all his classmates equally unsatisfactory.

"Kakashi-senpai, here you are."

The ninja hounds started complaining and gave the just-arrived ninja dirty looks. As Yamato came closer, his eyes fell on Athena's face.

"What's up, Tenzo?" Kakashi lazily asked, disregarding the disapproving glare of his kohai towards him and the person next to him.

"It's Yamato. Is it okay for you to be here," Yamato's voice was stern as he glanced at Athena, "like this?"

"I'm pretty sure it is," he smiled. "Athena was reading to us. Care to join?"

He examined the woman. She looked healthy, but definitely not strong enough to have completed any ninja training. In fact, she looked quite lovely in her simple white dress. _ Not beautiful enough for a seductress, but it'll make her pass as a civillian..._

"Yamato," as if having read his mind, Kakashi spoke up, "Athena is my new neighbor, and Hokage-sama had also put me in charge of her well-being."

He nodded at the explanation, but his eyes were still gauging the woman next to him. Then, to his surprise, she returned his stare. Her eyes had the color of a storm, and they were ripping a hole in his face. _I guess I kind of pissed her off, _he thought, _with a long overdue greeting._ "Nice to meet you," he said finally, "I'm Yamato."

Ignoring him, she turned to Kakashi, "Thanks for the book, I have to go to work now." She quickly put Biscuit back on his shoulder, collected her things, and left without addressing Yamato.

"Is she always like this?" he said after she had disappeared from the premise.

"Well you weren't exactly courteous to her either," Kakashi turned a page in his tattered book, "she'll surprise you if you're a bit nicer to her."

"Like you were?" Yamato couldn't help himself, "she might still be dangerous. I looked for you immediately after hearing about it from Hokage-sama. You're letting this woman get too close to you."

"Her name is Hayanashi Athena," he said.

"This wo...Hayanashi Athena is a complete stranger, who has detailed information on our task force and a background we can't verify," Yamato insisted. _Doesn't he know how dangerous it would be if she turned out to be a spy? _"You shouldn't be too close to her, considering your position in our task force and your close connection to Naruto, whom she might be after."

"I already interrogated her. From where I'm standing, she's just a young woman who was torn from the world she knew and suddenly found herself in a place full of strangers who see her as a threat." Kakashi closed his book. "Moreover, Naruto seems to like her."

"Are we trusting Naruto's judgement on people now?" Yamato scoffed. _Like how he trusted Sasuke?_

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the two jounins. The ninja hounds had disappeared in the mid of the conversation. Finally, Kakashi stood up, "you should go to the Ichiraku's Ramen Bar for dinner tonight. I have something else to take care of now."

With that, he left Yamato alone and puzzled under the maple tree.

* * *

The Ichiraku's Ramen Bar was particularly busy today. There were already a few people waiting in line for a seat, though for some strange reasons, they were circling around the side of the bar instead of standing in front. He took advantage of that and stole himself an open seat.

"Oy, Yamato-sensei, you're here for ramen also?"

He turned to his side. Naruto and Iruka were waving to him one seat over. The old man between them was kind enough to trade seat with him, something he was a bit inclined to refuse. _The senpai always pays, right? _He calculated, _I guess I'm sort of Iruka's senpai? _Nevertheless, he moved next to Naruto and his former academy teacher. He was about to tell Naruto about Kakashi's weird remark this evening, when a cool and quiet voice entered his ear.

"Your order. Two large ones with extra meat."

He looked up, and the pair of stormy eyes from earlier stared back at him unflinching. She was wearing an apron, her thick dark hair was tied up in a neat chignon. For a moment, she got his tongue. Some whispering arose from behind him. The in-line customers had already gathered around them. He could only make out "secrets" and "sorceress" among what was being said.

"Athena-san, you work here now?" Naruto asked.

"I'm filling in for Ayame-san. She's gone to the bay with some friends," she turned away from him to answer Naruto's question. _First I picked up some lawyer's dry cleanings and booked her dentist appointments, now I'm working at a noodle shop. What wonderful use of a six year education in chemistry and perfumery!_ She thought. _Will they realize already I'm not a threat? _

Athena looked at the ingredients in front of her. She loved cooking, she enjoyed Teuchi and his modest noodle bar, but she was fed up with having to work for survival—once to avoid starving and once to avoid persecution. She wanted a job in which she could use her skills. She studied to be a perfumer, she worked as a perfumer, now she wished to continue to be one. _Is that so much to ask even for a magical __world? _She lamented.

"What would you like to eat, Naruto?" she asked, trying to ignore the tempest inside her head. _Well, at least in this job I get to actually help, and people like me for it._

_She sure acts nicer towards him, _Yamato noted. _Is this why Kakashi-senpai told me to come here tonight? _

"Yamato-sensei, aren't you going to order?" Naruto reminded him. "Athena-san is a great cook. She could tell how to make the broth just from smelling it once!"

"Right," he faked a frivolous laugh, "I'd like a medium bowl with egg, please."

The woman behind the bar gave him a questioning look, then started to prepare the noodles. She put the bowl in front of Teuchi and let him put the garnish and meat on top. The chef quickly arranged the slices of roasted pork and two perfect halves of an egg on the side, then sprinkled the green negi on top.

"Here you go," he presented the ramen steeped in a fine clear golden brown broth.

"I hear you have some impressive new help," Yamato took the chance to chat him up.

"Oh, you mean Athena-san?" the old chef smiled, "she's very good. Maybe my Ayame would pay more attention to her cooking now that there's someone who can challenge her. Well, her problem is that she's still too young. But you're young too, Athena-san!" he added hurriedly. "Twenty-four isn't....ol...matur...well..."

"You must pay her well," Yamato saved Teuchi from himself, "since she's so good."

"No no, she volunteered to work here for free!" Teuchi shook his head. "She learned that I'll be short-handed without Ayame, and offered to help without pay. I'm glad though. She's such a diligent help too."

A shadow crossed his face. _She's working for free? _He tasted the broth. _She's definitely not at an apprentice level. Is she working here to get close to Naruto? _He glanced at her pacing back and forth between counters. Sweat soaked her temples, but her eyes remained sharp. She even laughed at Naruto's joke. Unlike her low-key voice, her laugh was as bright and thrilling as a bell.

However, she eyed him with great caution and never addressed him directly. Yamato sighed and decided to concentrate on his bowl of ramen instead. Unfortunately, Naruto brought Athena back to his attention when his bowl was only half eaten.

"Yes, Yamato-sensei here is very generous. He treated us to a hot-spring resort out of his own pocket!" Naruto loudly declared. Iruka was whispering to him that it's rude to talk with food in his mouth, something the young ninja never cared to listen. "He can even make a house out of woods!"

_Naruto! _He panicked. _Why are you telling her about my ability? _

"So you're a carpenter? I thought you were a ninja," she said to him. She was chopping negi and talking to them at the same time. Naruto almost choked on his noodles at her remark. He let out a ferocious laugh.

"Athena-san, Yamato-sensei can use Wood Element ninjutsu. He can make waterfalls appear, change the landscape, and even grow trees out of nowhere."

"Can you do that also?" she asked, looking at both Naruto and Iruka. _Why is half your village in construction then? _The two shared a quick glance, then broke out laughing again. Athena ceased her chopping. She hated being laughed at for stupidity or ignorance. "What is it?"

"Oh, sorry," Iruka politely apologized, "there are only two shinobis in history who can use wood element techniques. One is our First Hokage who had passed away long ago, and one is Yamato-senpai here." Then he added, "he's also an ANBU member with quite an impressive track-record."

"ANBU? Is that the same as Kakashi?" her eyes widened. _Why is this guy watching me? Kakashi told me my status was cleared._

"No," Yamato stepped in, _so she's even on a first-name basis with senpai, _"I served under Kakashi-senpai in the ANBU. Even though he left, Senpai is still considered somewhat of a legend in the operation. Please don't compare me to him."

Yamato recalled his memory of a nineteen year old Kakashi, who was very tall, lean, and well sculpted in his fitted ANBU black uniform and silver vest—his hair a bit shorter than the present, and his eyes sharp and intense as knives. _Incredibly fast, _he noted, _and inhumanly good at assassination. _He remembered standing behind Hatake Kakashi a year later in their first mission together and how inadequate he had felt. The silver hair gleamed beneath the moon light, a dash of movement, Raikiri blazed up, and the target fell. Yamato recalled the initial jealousy he had felt, which later turned into admiration and respect.

"How was Kakashi-sensei considered a legend?" Naruto asked with awe. _I need to remember this and tell Sakura-chan also. _The thought of his half-asleep chronically late-to-everything sensei as an elite ANBU seemed inconceivable.

"He still is, Naruto," Yamato corrected his student, "Kakashi-senpai was exceptional in every aspect of the ninja arts. He was dutiful, intelligent, and resourceful. I've never seen him in any other position except the leader in our missions together. You should have seen him then, Naruto, he was quite something to behold. Not that he's not impressive now."

_But he was something else before, _Yamato thought and then looked at the blond teenager, _he softened quite a bit from being with you, Naruto. _

"One thing about Kakashi-senpai remains the same. He always declares with a laugh that he wouldn't let his teammates die, and that he would sacrifice his life to ensure that," Yamato said. _I guess I can never be like that. _He looked at Athena. _Kakashi-senpai, what did you want me to see? _

"He's just as indulgent as ever. I guess that's why he was so loved and respected even in our operation, which has been known for its more individual fighting ethics." _That might also be the reason why he left us, _Yamato thought. "That's why he's a legend."

"And also incredibly foolish," Athena added to his concluding sentence. "Life isn't something one should give away like a candy bar. We only get to live once. Those who are too eager to throw away their lives really don't have any appreciation for life."

"Don't you think it's worth it to give your life defending what you believe in? Or the person you love? Or the country you swear loyalty to?" Naruto beat everyone to the questions. The young ninja had put down his chopsticks, and had his arms crossed.

"It depends. It's worth it on an ideal level, but in reality...are you sure what you believe in isn't wrong? Or what the person you love is worth being protected? Or that the country you swear loyalty to isn't just using you for its own political agenda?"

_I don't understand them, _Athena thought, _why are they so eager to die? _She recalled the average age of a shinobi as said in her boring book. _An average of thirty-three years. Only thirty. And these kids...they should be concerned about other things rather than death! _

"Don't you have someone whom you want to protect with your life? Someone's very important to you?" Naruto pressed on without addressing her rebuttals. Snow flakes were falling onto his memory. Heavy, and at the same time ceremonious.

"No I don't," she answered dryly. "We don't die for each other in our culture. Well, I guess some do, but generally there's no need to. The biggest test for a bond is often whether or not we trust each other enough to get married or co-sign a loan."

"Well, we die for each other here, Athena-san." Iruka gently said, "a shinobi's life is surrounded by death. We've chosen this life willingly."

"No you didn't," she said, then caught herself. _I forgot you're born and bred by martyrs, _she held herself back, _you probably think dying is an honor. _

They puzzled her. Between them there was a bond forged between comrades who had been through life and death together. Between every ninja she encountered was a fire binding them all together in a single will: to protect the village. _To be able to cast your life away in order to protect something precious_, she felt a sudden pang of some inexplicable feeling. She didn't know whether to pity them, to envy them, or to admire them.

"I'm sorry. I simply...don't understand," she surrendered with great difficulty. _I'm in Rome after all. _

Her half-ass but honest apology quenched Naruto's anger, and he quickly returned to telling her all the tidbits concerning a ninja's life, even more enthusiastic than before. Next to them, Yamato continued with his ramen bowl, his eyes were still glued at the face of Hayanashi Athena.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Need any help?"

Athena turned around to find Yamato offering her his free arms. She gave him a hard stare before dropping the pile of neatly folded clothing on top of them. For at least two weeks he had dashed in and out of her life. Just last night he was knocking on her door. _"I was in the area, so I thought I'd stop by and ask how you're doing," _he said. _Who did he think I was? An idiot? _

She still noticed some strange and cautious glances directed at her on the streets, but for the most part, her integration into Konoha had been rather peaceful after Kakashi's report. She was even accepted as a volunteering story-teller for kids at the academy. Of course, she was never allowed to be alone with them. Their teacher, Naruto's first sensei, was a nice guy however. She found him to be an easy-going fellow with not a shred of intimidation like Kakashi or Yamato.

"Where are we going?" he asked her.

"The stockroom," she answered dryly. "I'm making a delivery."

Athena had officially became an amateur seamstress in Konoha. For the last two weeks she had been receiving uniforms damaged in missions or worn by use from the stockroom to mend. Since the Ichiraku Ramen Bar no longer required her help, she had volunteered herself to various jobs in the village, trying to make herself out to be a useful and decent citizen. Her effort paid off when the owner of Haruko Exchange hired her to work in their scent and perfume section. _Finally, _she remembered how tight she had hugged the poor old woman after being offered a job.

"Didn't you just receive these five days ago? You must have worked really hard."

"I don't really have a lot to do," she said. _What do you think I do aside from work? Converse with friends at teahouses?_

The jounin, who initially shunned her, had suddenly changed his attitude after their encounter at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar three weeks ago. Apparently, being a coward was a non-spy quality. She was glad she didn't disclose the fact that their Konoha ninja life was being broadcasted for the people in her world to see. _I would probably be locked up for life, _she shivered at the thought.

They arrived at the stockroom. She walked to the window and made her delivery like usual. The receptionist opened the thick inventory book and checked off something, then handed over another big bag of uniforms. When she turned around, Yamato was still there with his arms out. Without hesitation, she let him pick up the bag and started walking home.

"So, I hear your new job is going well?"

In just a week, her reputation as _perfumer extraordinaire_ had spread to the entire village. People had been rushing in for special orders of fragrances she created. She had been making perfumes for others her entire life; it had almost became a habit. Hayanashi Athena wished to create a scent that deeply moved her, one that could deliver to anyone anywhere an unforgettable experience, one that was created by great depth and carried in its scent the great tremor of the artist's heart. In short, she longed for a masterpiece despite having no inspiration. _And I fell in a fantastical dimension! What else is __inspiration if it's not this?_

"It's going fine," she mumbled.

"You don't trust anyone beside Kakashi-senpai, do you?" Yamato said. "You're always curt with me."

"Or maybe I just don't like talking to you," she replied.

Yamato chuckled. He had a strange feeling that she could bite his head off with her words. She wasn't intimidating in strength in any way, but strangely no one ever thought little of her. She made some comments the other day to some of his subordinates about how the women here were, _how did she put it?,_ '_undermined' _and_ 'unappreciated'. _Apparently in her world, women, whether or not they can fight, are equal to men.

"Well, Senpai will be back soon from his mission, then I won't be following you anymore."

"Did Kakashi tell you to do this? Keeping me in check?"

"You sound annoyed," he said, "aren't you happy?"

"Why would I be happy that he designated a babysitter to look after me, a grown woman?"

_Do all the women in her world think like that? _He thought. _What a weird culture! _Yamato looked at Athena's furrowed brows and pouted lips, her signature disapproving expression. It was such a serious and peculiarly adorable expression. Unbeknownst to her, he smiled.

"What's this mission that he's on anyway?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. It's classified information."

"Yeah yeah. Is it dangerous?"

"Are you worried?"

"No, not really," she lowered her voice, "it's just taking a bit longer than I thought."

….

"_I'll be back in a week," he put on his bag and pointed to the ninja next to him in the hallway, "if you need anything, Yamato will take care of it for you."_

"_You woke me up at 7AM for this?" she said, grouchy._

"_Ah, I guess so," he said, laughed, and left._

_She went back to bed and lied there wide awake until noon, trying to catch pieces of the cool oak moss and earthy sandalwood scent which was slowly being erased by the growing distance. _

…_._

That was more than ten days ago.

"Oh, so you miss him?" he asked, slightly teasing her. Her blunt speech presented her as transparent, yet her gaze left you with a sense of mystery. She was honest, yet secretive. _She's a bit like Kakashi-senpai, isn't she?_

"Don't be stupid," she said. "I just wonder if something unexpected happened."

"So you're worried."

She sighed. Yamato was just as relentless as Kakashi. She felt as if they had made a secret pact of disallowing her even a single white lie. Worse, they seemed to enjoy chasing her to a corner; especially Yamato, every conversation with him ended often in her admitting her defeat.

"Fine. I'm worried."

"Well you shouldn't be. It's only a B-rank mission. Senpai probably took a detour somewhere, or he's just late as usual."

"Can he do that on a mission?"

"He gets scolded for it, but he does it anyway. The way back on this mission passes by some amazing hot spring resorts, he probably stopped there for a short paid vacation."

"That sounds...irresponsible."

Yamato nodded, "that's Kakashi-senpai to you. He takes advantage of the system a little, but nobody really minds."

"What do I do to the system?" A casual and laid back voice sneaked up on them.

Kakashi was standing behind them in that slouching posture and that chronically visible mask of his. His backpack was still on his shoulders. His clothes were a bit dirty and there were a few tears, but he didn't appear injured.

"You've gotten even better Senpai, I couldn't sense you at all," Yamato said.

Kakashi shrugged to acknowledge Yamato's comment. His lazy dark blue eye turned quickly to Athena and he took a step towards her. "You've been doing okay?"

"Yeah," she said, "I got a job after you left."

"At Haruko Exchange. I met with Naruto and Sakura at the gate. Congrats."

She shrugged at his congratulations. "Do you need your uniform mended?"

"Oh, you're still doing that? That would be nice, thank you. This shirt needs a bit of patching done."

"Kakashi-senpai, I have a meeting to go to, can you help Athena-san carry this to her home?" his subordinate gave him the big bag full of torn clothes without even waiting for him to answer.

"Well, I have to turn in my report," he said.

"I'll turn it in for you," Yamato said. "You should go home and rest. It's been a long mission."

Kakashi reached into his backpack and gave Yamato the mission report, then he grabbed the clothing bag and swinged it behind his back as if it weighed nothing. "Ready?" he looked at Athena.

—

His place looked the same before his departure. The bed was neatly made. The plant on his bed was still green despite the hot sun. Nothing was disturbed. He opened the fridge, no stale food. His old milk carton was thrown out. Even his old left-over was missing.

"Did you clean out my fridge for me? Thank you."

"Actually, that was Naruto. He also stopped by often to water your plant."

"I need to thank him later then," he chuckled and closed the fridge. "Unfortunately now I'm out of ingredients to make dinner."

"Would you like to go out for dinner then?" she said.

"Dinner?" Kakashi scratched his head. "Will it be only us?"

"I can't invite another person," she said, "no offense but your taste is kind of expensive."

"Oh," he sighed in relief, "you don't have to invite me to dinner just because I paid for yours once." _If only she knew that I claimed it as a mission expense, oh well..._

"You also bought me grocery and defended me against your superior. I'm not an ungrateful person."

Looking at her eyes, he knew that he had no choice but to accept. "Alright. Give me some time to shower first."

"Why? It's not a date. You don't need to bother yourself."

"That's..." he blushed. _How can she speak of these things so casually? _"No. I just prefer to get out of these old clothes."

"Ok," she accepted his explanation just as quickly as she had questioned him.

—

Kakashi leaned uncomfortably against the cushion seat. This was the first time in his life where a woman would pay for his dinner. Though he had had female subordinates taking him out for meals or drinks, Athena wasn't his subordinate. She wasn't even his relative. He looked at her and wondered if she even noticed how strange was her request.

"Why aren't you ordering?" she asked.

"Oh," he mumbled, "just order for me also."

"You don't have to worry. Just get what you like. I make enough to at least accommodate your taste for one dinner."

He grunted to say 'yes' and then picked up the menu, feeling more and more entranged from the world he knew. Often it was him who had to reassure his students, subordinates, and 'acquaintances' that he could pay for their dinners. He gave the waitress his order and turned around to find Athena smiling at him. Her eyes were gleaming.

"You seem happy," he commented.

"Two months ago I had nothing," she said, "and now here I am, taking a friend out to dinner. Of course I'm happy."

He smiled beneath his mask. _So I guess we're friends now. _"I'm glad for you."


End file.
